
i 



LIFE OF 

I 

FREDERICK THE GREAT 

COMPREHENDING 

COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE SILESIAN CAMPAIGNS 

AND 

THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR 



By FRANCIS KUGLER 



WITH AN INTKODITCTION 

By G. mercer ADAM 



ILLUSTRATED 



THE PEEKINS BOOK COMPANY, 
296 Broadway, New York. 



\N\ 






THE LIBRARY OF 1 
CONGRESS, j 


Two Copies 


Received 


APR 10 


1903 


Copyright 


Entry 


CLASS Pi. 


XXc. N». 


SCI 

COF'Y 


S. 



Copyright, 1902, 
By E. a. BRAINERD, 




FREDERICK THE GREAT. 



/ 



^ ^■ 






PREFACE. 



Frederick the Great — who in many cases served as 
the model for England's ablest foe, the Emperor Napoleon 
— ^was one of those monarchs whose lives form at once 
the most interesting and instructive episodes in the annals 
of history. Subject in childhood to the insane whims of 
a half-crazed father — the victim of unexampled parental 
tyranny — his very life in momentary danger from the 
sword which still dripped with the blood of his dearest 
friend, the period of his youth was rendered one of more 
than tragic interest. Arrived at manhood, we find him 
seated on a throne which totters beneath the repeated 
s.iucks of his countless foes ; at once calculating and bold, 
he rushes to the field, dissipates the hosts of adversaries, 
and returns in triumph to his capital. From thencefor- 
ward his existence seems to oscillate between the laurel- 
wreath which was to deck his brow in the event of victory, 
and the poison-phial which was to terminate his exist- 
ence, when, outnumbered and defeated, he wished to 
spare his country the cost of his ransom. A career so 
chequered must of itself prove interesting to the reader ; 
but Frederick has other claims on the attention beyond 
his merits as a warrior. The originality of his views — 
the enlightened character of his policy — his talents as a 
legislator, statesman, and scholar, must render his reign 
the most interesting epoch in the history of Europe. 
A like distinguished in the cabinet and the camp, the virtual 

iii 



iv PREFACE. 

founder of the present monarchy of Prussia, his name 
will descend to distant ages as the most uncompromising 
champion of his countrj^'s rights : time will but confirm 
his title to the flattering distinction which his country- 
men have conferred in styling him The Great. 



CONTENTS. 

BOOK I.— YOUTH. 



PAGE 

CHAPTER I. 
Birth and Baptism 1 

CHAPTER II. 
Infancy 6 

CHAPTER III. 
Boyhood 13 

CHAPTER IV. 
Disunion between Father and Son 19 

CHAPTER V. 
Discord between Father and Son 29 

CHAPTER VI. 
I Attempt at Flight 39 

CHAPTER VII. 
. The Trial 45 

CHAPTER VIII. 
^- The Reconciliation 57 

CHAPTER IX. 
Marriage 65 

CHAPTER X. 
First Sight of Actual Warfare 72 

CHAPTER XI. 
Residence in Rheinsberg 79 

CHAPTER XII. 

Death of the Father 92 

V 



vi CONTENTS. 

BOOK 11.— GLORY. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Frederick's Accession 97 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Opening of the Silesian War 109 

CHAPTER XV. 
Campaign OF the Year 1741 120 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Campaign of the Year 1742 134 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Two Years' Peace 142 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Opening of the second Silesian War.— Campaign of the 
Year 1744 150 

CHAPTER XIX. 
Campaign of the Year 1745 158 

CHAPTER XX. 
Concluding Campaign of the second Silesian War 169 

CHAPTER XXI. 
Frederick's Administration up to the Seven Years' War, 176 

CHAPTER XXII. 

The Philosopher of Sans-Souci 191 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Political Relations previous to the Seven Years' War. 204 

BOOK III.— HEROISM. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
First Campaign of the Seven Years' War 212 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Opening OF THE Campaign OF 1757.— Prague and Kollin. . 223 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
Continuation OF THE Campaign of 1757 236 



CONTENTS. vii 

PAGE 

CHAPTER XXVII. 
^ Continuation of the Campaign of 1757.~Rossbach 241 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
Conclusion of the Campaign of 1757.— Leuthen 252 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
Opening of the Campaign of 1758. The Expedition to 
Moravia 264 

CHAPTER XXX. 
Continuation of the Campaign of 1758.— Zorndorf 275 

CHAPTER XXXI. 
Conclusion of the Campaign of 1758.— Hochkirch 285 

CHAPTER XXXII. 
Campaign of the Year 1759.— Cunnersdorf 302 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 
Opening of the Campaign of 1760.— Dresden and Liegnitz, 322 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 
Conclusion of the Campaign of 1760.— Torgau 338 

CHAPTER XXXV. 
Campaign of 1761.— The Camp at Bundelwitz 350 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

Conclusion of the Campaign of 1761.— The Camp at 
Strehlen 359 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 
Campaign of 1762, Burkersdorf and Schweidnitz.— Peace, 367 

BOOK IV.— OLD AGE. 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
Ordering of internal Relations during Peace 381 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

Friendly Relations with Russia and Austria.— Acquisi- 
tion OF West Prussia 891 



viii CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER XL. 

Frederick's Solicitude for Germany. — The Bavarian 
War of Succession. —The Princes' League 407 

CHAPTER XLI. 

Frederick's internal Administration from the Period of 
THE Seven Years' War 417 

CHAPTER XLII. 
Frederick's Domestic Life in Old Age 428 

CHAPTER XLIII. 
Frederick's Death 442 

Frederick's Last Will and Testament 451 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 



Almost numberless are the instances of writers, as 
well as nations, who have come under the glamour of a 
great historic name. Mr. Kugler, in his able and vigor- 
ously written Life of Frederick the Second, styled " the 
Great," is himself an example of this, for his Memoir is a 
eulogy of the great Prussian soldier and his phenomenal 
military career, one of conquest and glory, without, as we 
think, giving due consideration to the crime his hero 
committed in invading and wresting Silesia — the loved 
inheritance of Maria Theresa — from Hapsburg dominion, 
in the interest of Prussian hegemony and ascendancy. 
The conduct of Frederick in his aggression on Austria in 
Silesia is, we know, palliated by some historians on the 
plea that Prussia had some early claim to the region; 
while they excuse his act on religious grounds, in that it 
was the spoliation of a Catholic by a Protestant power — 
a plea certainly flimsy enough when one remembers how 
little of a Christian was the cynical materialist Frederick, 
save in his toleration of all religions. Moreover, had he 
not given his adhesion to the provisions of the Pragmatic 
Sanction of Charles VI., which guaranteed, after the 
latter's death, the indivisibility of Austrian territories ; 
and was not his act a defiance of international morality in 
the interest of his own ambition, while he put a reproach 
upon his gallantry by a cruel wrong done to a woman ? 
The consequences were terrible, in that Frederick, taking 
advantage of the crisis that arose over the Austrian Suc- 
cession set Europe aflame for years, and clouded the judg- 
ment of the world upon a cause by the bloody triumphs 
of battle. Aside, however, from the question of morals 

ill 



iv INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 

involved in a consideration of the origin of the conflict, 
Frederick's career from its outbreak, in 1740, to the close 
of the War of Austrian Succession, in 1748, and through- 
out its terrible aftermath, in the Seven Years' War, is a 
confirmation of the Prussian king's title to fame as a re- 
nowned warrior ; while great also were his statesmanship 
and administrative qualities, and heroic his courage and 
determined will under disaster and defeat and the de- 
pressing circumstances in which he often found himself. 
These high qualities are flatteringly dwelt upon in the 
following pages by the patriotic historian and art-critic, 
Mr. Kugler, who finds in his world-famed royal country- 
man his ideal of his hero, whom he naturally reveres as 
the maker of Modern Germany, and in many respects 
justly eulogizes for his ever-memorp*ble services to the 
Fatherland. 

England's aid to Frederick, Mr. Kugler properly ac- 
knowledges, not only in that nation's early endeavor to 
mediate between Prussia and the Empress-Queen of 
Austria, and, when war was launched, by sending him 
troops and money subsidies ; but also in the part she took 
against France on the continent and in wresting Canada 
from her Gallic foe in the New World. Helpful also to 
Prussia was England's struggle in India, in ending French 
dominion in the Far East, and in her successful efforts, as 
a maritime nation, to win supremacy on the sea. The in- 
fluence of all this aid to Prussia obviously was substantial, 
and greatly helped Frederick when beleaguered by the 
combination of European Powers, with its disasters as 
well as victories ; while, when the end came, it secured 
him in the occupation and retention of Silesia. 

The annals of the Seven Years' War on the Continent, 
beginning with Federick's invasions of Saxony and Bo- 
hemia, are fully narrated by Mr. Kugler, with their 
vividly described accounts of sieges and long list of stub- 
bornly contested battles, including Prussia's memorable 
victories over the French at Rossbach, over the Austrians 
at Leuthen, and over the Russians at Zorndorf . In these 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE. V 

and other sanguinary fields Frederick proved his consum- 
mate skill as a strategist, tactician, and master of the art 
of war. With the campaign of 1762, after many darken- 
ings and brightenings of Prussia's prospects, peace at last 
fell upon the several contestants ; while all were exhausted 
in both men and money by the prolonged and bloody con- 
flict. In the final result, Frederick's courage, constancy, 
and skill met with their reward ; while a new era of con- 
solidated power, with quickened progress and remarkable 
expanding forces, fell upon the newly-arisen Prussian 
Nation. 

G. Mercer Adam. 



FREDERICK THE GREAT- 



CHAPTER I. 



BIRTH AND BAPTISM. 



Frederick, on whom his contemporaries conferred the 
title of the Great — an honorary distinction which suc- 
ceeding generations have concurred in adopting — was 
born on the 21st of January, 1712, in the royal palace 
at Berlin. His birth was naturally greeted with every 
demonstration of joy, for in him centred all the hopes of 
the royal family. Although at the time of his birth, his 
grandfather. King Frederick I., still occupied the Prussian 
throne, yet, as the father was an only child, and had 
already lost two sons in the first stages of infancy, there 
appeared but too good grounds for apprehending a failure 
of direct heirs, and the consequent passage of the crown 
to some collateral branch of the family. It is said that 
the glad tidings were conveyed to the ruling monarch 
just as the ceremonies of the dinner-table were about to 
commence; that he instantly arose from his seat, and 
hastened to offer his congratulations to the august patient 
on her safe delivery, and, in person, greet the future in- 
heritor of his crown. The merry peals of the church- 
bells, and the thunder of the guns from the ramparts, 
soon spread the joyous intelligence throughout the capital. 
Numerous were the promotions and advancements in 
honor of the occasion, and the distribution of alms through- 

1 



2 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

out the various poor-houses of the city tended to heighten 
the universal festivity of the day. 

Frederick I. had inherited his dominions from his father, 
Frederick William, surnamed the Great Elector. To the 
Great Elector belongs the honor of having been the first, 
Avho, after the prostration of Germany's energies through 
the horrors of the Thirty Years' War, succeeded in vin- 
dicating the honor of the Teutonic name, and resisting 
the encroachments of France. His dominions, originally 
mere settlements of some Wendish tribes, were by him 
raised to such a degree of political power and importance, 
as could not fail of commanding respect. In short, he 
fought so successfully and governed so wisely, as to 
awaken the jealousy of the imperial court of Austria ; it 
being but little in accordance with the views of his im- 
perial majesty, then struggling for unlimited sovereignty 
over Germany, that any considerable share of power 
should fall into the hands of subordinate electoral princes. 
The bare idea of a new Wendish king starting up on the 
shores of the Baltic, was of itself sufficient to create un- 
easiness at Vienna. 

Frederick had to the many measures of his father 
superadded one, which, though it has been at times de- 
rided as puerile, ultimately proved of incalculable im- 
portance, and evinced no ordinary degree of political 
foresight in its author. He erected his Duchy of East 
Prussia, (West Prussia had been already wrested by the 
Poles from its former masters,) which formed no part of 
the empire, into a monarchy, and placed the royal crown 
upon his own head on the 18th of January, 1701. In 
the accomplishment of this design he was continually 
thwarted by Austria ; but the untiring perseverance with 
which he pursued his aim eventually triumphed over all 
obstacles. The real importance of this measure is at- 
tested by the dictum of Prince Eugene of Savoy — at once 
the greatest statesman and soldier that Austria could then 
boast — who pronounced " the ministers, by whose advice 
the emperor had been induced to recognize the independ- 



BIRTH AND BAPTISM. 3 

ence of Prussia as a monarchy, deserving of death." And, 
in truth, the title of King and the ceremonials of royalty- 
were, in that punctilious age, far from being mere empty 
forms, as Prussia was thereby placed in a position, as re- 
garded the empire — the power of which was daily sinking 
— that could not fail of suggesting a struggle for inde- 
pendence. To the final success, however, of this struggle, 
a very considerable development of the resources of the 
Brandenburg- Prussian state was absolutely essential. 

It was not accorded to the first monarch of this king- 
dom to complete the task he had begun. For the accom- 
plishment of a design so vast, a combination of favorable 
external and internal relations Avas altogether mdispen- 
sable. Frederick contented himself with giving to his 
crown that lustre which he deemed essential to the sup- 
port of its dignity, and which, at the period we allude to, 
was in reality not without its value. He introduced daz- 
zling ceremonials, and performed all their exactions with 
the most untiring assiduity. He celebrated the memor- 
able events of his reign with a degree of pomp and magnifi- 
cence that filled his neighbors with astonishment, and 
inspired the hearts of his subjects with feelings at once 
of admiration and awe. He at the same time displayed 
much mildness of character, and was really beloved by 
those he governed. Nor was he less anxious to impart 
a more elevated character to the externals of pageantry 
by a liberal patronage of science and art. Noble works 
of genius were called by him into being. Andreas 
Schliiter, who for many years enjoyed his patronage in 
Berlin, was an artist, such as the world has not for many 
years prior nor subsequently seen. To this monarch 
the Berlin Academy of Sciences is indebted for its exist- 
ence ; an institution of which Leibnitz, unquestionably 
the greatest philosopher of his age, was the soul, although 
it was found impossible to induce him to take up a per- 
manent residence at Berlin. At the period to which we 
allude Berlin was universally known as the German 
Athens. 



4 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

The birth of a future successor, especially under the 
circumstances above recorded, appeared to be an event by 
far too important not to form a fitting occasion for an un- 
usual display oi regal pomp and magnificence. The cir- 
cumstance of the birth of the infant prince having occurred 
in the month of January, the same in which the corona- 
tion of his grandfather had taken place, was regarded as 
a highly favorable omen ; and in order to lend additional 
importance to this coincidence, it was arranged that the 
baptismal rites should be administered within that month. 
Accordingly, on the 31st of January the christenmg took 
place, in the chapel attached to the royal palace, attended 
with extraordinary splendor. The distance from the 
chambers of the infant prince to the palace was lined with 
double files of Swiss and Life-Guards. The Margravine 
Albert, the king's sister-in-law, supported by her husband 
and the Margrave Louis, bore the royal infant in her arms. 
The latter wore on his head a small gold crown, and was 
arrayed in a robe of silver tissue, sparkling with brilliants, 
the train of which was borne by six countesses. The king 
and queen, together with the infant's father, and Prince 
Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau, the warrior so illustrious in 
the annals of Prussia, awaited within the chapel the 
arrival of the procession. The monarch stood beneath a 
gorgeous canopy embroidered with gold, the four sup- 
porters of which w^ere borne by as many chamberlains, 
whilst each of the four tassels was held by a knight of 
the order of the Black Eagle. In front of the king stood 
a table, sustaining a costly baptismal font. The infant 
was then placed in the monarch's arms, and received, in 
honor of its grandfather, the name of Frederick. The 
numerous bells throughout the city now pealed out anew, 
seconded by the volleys of the artillery, whilst the cere- 
monies within the chapel proceeded amidst the most en- 
trancing strains of sacred music. Brilliant fetes at court 
closed the festivities of the joyous day. 

Some months subsequent to the birth of the prince, 
during the summer of 1712, an American aloe was ob- 



BIRTH AND BAPTISM. 5 

served to blossom in the royal gardens of Kbpeneck, near 
Berlin. This plant had stood there, without blossoming, 
for a period of forty years. Its stem was full thirty feet 
in height, and not less than 7277 of its blossoms had been 
counted. Crowds streamed from far and near to gaze at 
this giant-flower ; and its surpassing grandeur formed the 
subjects of pamphlets and poems. It was regarded as 
symbolical of that splendor which Prussia was destined 
one day to attain ; and this allegorical signification was 
amply wrought out in the form of mottoes and devices. 
The liopes which the birth of an heir had awakened, ap- 
peared to derive additional confirmation from this event. 
Nor was the fact of the plant itself decaying, whilst its 
flowery crown retained all its pristine beauty, left unin- 
terpreted ; this being held to forebode the speedy dis- 
solution of the regnant monarch. Such an interpretation 
was, in truth, not very hazardous ; for the king, whose 
constitution was from infancy feeble, had been for some 
time indisposed. And, indeed the birth of an heir was 
the last gleam of splendor that gladdened his career. 

The f ollo^ving anniversary festival in honor of his birth- 
day was the last occasion of his appearing in public. 
The disease under which he labored now assumed a very 
dangerous character, so much so, that on the 13th of 
February he summoned the various members of Jhis 
household and family to his bedside, and there took a 
formal leave of them. On the 28th of February he ex- 
pired, after having conferred his solemn blessing on the 
prince royal and his grandchildren, as they knelt beside 
his couch. 



FREDERICK THE GREAT. 



CHAPTER II. 



INFANCY. 



During the period immediately succeeding the acces- 
sion of Frederick William I. to the throne, now rendered 
vacant by the death of his father, vast changes were in- 
troduced, as well in the government of Prussia, as in the 
household and domestic arrangements of the royal family. 
The character of Frederick William I. was diametrically 
opposed to that of his father. To him the strict formali- 
ties, in which he had been hitherto obliged to acquiesce, 
were burthensome, and the costly pomp of royal festiv- 
ities absolutely odious. The higher walks of science 
and the amenities of refinement, for which his mother, the 
highly accomplished Charlotte Sophia, likewise deceased, 
had endeavored to inspire him with a love, were in his eyes 
alike worthless, nay, even regarded as injurious. Nature 
had formed his mind in a decidedly practical mould. 
His efforts were directed to replenish his exchequer, in- 
stead of permitting it to be drained by the la\ash expen- 
diture of an extravagant household, or the rapacious 
cupidity of court favorites ; and, by arousing his subjects 
to the advantages of unremitting industry, he strove to 
advance the general prosperity of his kingdom. He de- 
termined that the authority and dignity of his crown 
should be no longer sustained by a brilliancy that dazzled, 
but by a numerous and well-disciplined army. That the 
festivities, which were to shed lustre on his career, should 
consist in displays of the arts of war. His indefatigable 
zeal and perseverance succeeded in introducing a degree 



INFANCY. 7 

of rapidity, uniformity, and precision in the execution of 
military manoeuvres, hitherto wholly unknown. He was 
also particularly anxious that his regiments, especially 
the foremost ranks, should be distinguished for their 
personal beauty and lofty stature ; nay, he actually went 
so far as to lavish sums for the attainment of these ob- 
jects, wholly irreconcilable with his ordinary parsimony. 
This penchant not unfrequently involved him in strife 
and disputes with the neighboring States, arising out of 
his forcible abduction of recruits. Berlin, under his 
government, was no longer termed the German Athens, 
but the German Sparta. 

His private life resembled that of an ordinary citizen, 
and his frugality — at a time when the corruption of 
manners at courts was absolutely frightful — is not un- 
deserving of praise. Connubial fidelity occupied the first 
place in his esteem. It was his wish to bring up his 
family, which in time became numerous, according to his 
own strong devotional feelings. His efforts were from 
an early period directed to accustom them to a regular 
mode of life, the most implicit obedience and useful oc- 
cupations, with a view to render them efficient members 
of society, at least, according to his ideas of efficiency. 
On the other hand, everything appertaining to science or 
the elegancies of life was strictly proscribed from his 
domestic circle. Beneath this rude exterior his heart 
was German, and he was ever ready to show justice to 
all who approached him frankly ; but, a refractory spirit, 
or opposition to his well-meant ordinances found in him 
an inexorable judge ; his natural violence of temper lead- 
ing him, at times, to visit such disobedience with the 
most extreme rigor. 

The early infancy of Frederick, now prince royal, was 
entrusted to the management of females, as it was im- 
possible that the peculiar tenets and sentiments of the 
father could be inculcated at so tender an age. His 
mother. Queen Sophia Dorothea, daughter to the then 
King of Hanover, (afterwards under the title of George 



8 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

I. King of England,) was eminent for the good qualities 
of her heart and by no means so inimical to learning as 
her spouse. She endeavored to implant her own kind 
feelings in the bosoms of her children ; but she wanted, 
unhappily, that devoted love, which, in harmony with 
the will of her husband, might have proved most bene- 
ficial to her family. 

Madame de Kamecke, one of the ladies-in-waiting on 
the queen, was the person selected to superintend the 
education of the prince. Madame de Rocouilles, who 
acted as under-governess, exerted, however, much more 
influence on his future destinies, and earned a much larger 
share of gratitude. The latter had tended the father in 
his infancy ; and her noble and decided character, together 
with her devoted attachment to the interest of Prussia, 
recommended her so strongly, that it appeared but a 
proper act of gratitude to assign her this distinguished 
office. By birth a Frenchwoman, she belonged to that 
numerous class of reformers whom bigotry had expelled 
from France, much to the detriment of that country, and 
who had found a welcome reception in the Brandenburg 
States. 

It can hardly be a matter of surprise that a French- 
woman should, even at the court of Frederick William, 
have been entrusted with the education of children ; inas- 
much as the world was at that time completely under the 
influence of French literature, and a knowledge of the 
French tongue was altogether indispensable for the pur- 
pose of conversation in the higher circles of society. 
Besides, in consequence of all such emigrants as had 
brought with them any degree of eminence in the arts or 
sciences having selected Berlin for their place of resi- 
dence, French was much more generally spoken in that 
city than elsewhere. Thus, the crown-prince received 
from his infancy particular instruction in the French 
language ; a circumstance which exerted no inconsider- 
able influence on his after-life. The fidelity with which 
his instructress discharged her duty towards him, is 



INFANCY. 9 

amply attested by the permanent attachment which he 
displayed towards her to the close of her life. 

On Frederick's attaining his fourth year a singular 
prophecy was uttered concerning him. There happened 
to be at that time several Swedish officers in Berlin, who 
had been made prisoners of war at the capture of Stral- 
sund, on Christmas-day, 1715, during a war into which 
Frederick William had been forced by the continual en- 
croachments of Charles XII. of Sweden, and which ter- 
minated in the cession of a part of Pomerania to Prussia. 
One of these officers named Croome, was reputed to pos- 
sess the power of reading the future in the stars, and the 
lineaments of the human hand. The whole capital was 
full of his prophecies ; and even the queen and the ladies 
of the court became anxious to have their future destinies 
revealed to them. Croome was accordingly summoned 
to the chambers of her majesty. He here examined the 
various hands offered for his inspection, and did, in 
reality, predict events which subsequently came to pass 
with marvellous exactitude. He announced to the queen, 
then pregnant, that she would in two months give birth 
to a daughter. To the eldest princess he foretold a series 
of delusive hopes, and a life embittered by many sorrows. 
To some of the ladies of the court he prophesied a speedy 
and ignominious dismissal. On the crown-prince being 
I)resented to him, he predicted many crosses during youth, 
but that he should in after years become an emperor, and 
one of the greatest sovereigns of Europe. With the ex- 
ception of the title of emperor this prophecy has been 
completely fulfilled. 

During infancy, and until his limbs had become steeled 
by military toils, the constitution of the prince was so 
delicate that fears were entertained for his life ; the more 
so from the circumstance of two of his brothers having 
already died in infancy. This delicacy of frame, com- 
bined with a great keenness of susceptil3ility for external 
impressions, lent a sad and melancholy tone to his mind, 
and this circumstance increased still further tlie appre- 



10 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

hensions which were already entertained regarding him. 
Proportionable care was therefore bestowed on his phys- 
ical education. The weakness of his constitution seemed 
to seek support in his eldest sister, to whom he clung 
with the most tender attachment. She iu turn, repaid 
this fondness by devoting her hours of recreation to his 
amusement. These feelings of strong reciprocal attach- 
ment remained unbroken up to the hour of the sister's 
death. 

A scene which occurred in those early years has been 
preserved to posterity in an admirable painting by Pesne, 
at that time court-painter. The prince had received a 
present of a small drum, and the joy which he displayed 
in beating a march upon it was observed to contrast 
strongly with the ordinary stillness and gloom of his dis- 
position. The queen had on one occasion given him per- 
mission to amuse himself in this way in her apartments, 
where his sister was likewise engaged with her toys. 
The latter, weary of the sound of the drum, begged him 
to amuse himself by drawing her coach, or playing with 
her flowers ; whereupon the prince with much seriousness 
replied, though ever ready to accede to a wish on the part 
of his sister : " To beat the drum well is more useful 
than playing, and more pleasant than flowers." This 
reply appeared of so much importance to his mother, 
that she immediately sent for the king, to whom this evi- 
dence of a martial taste gave the highest satisfaction. It 
was arranged that the scene should be repeated in the 
presence of the painter, without the children being aware 
of the object, and by him transferred to canvas. He 
introduced a Moorish servant as appertaining to the at- 
tendance on the royal children. 

The king passed much of his time amongst his family, 
and his fondness was evinced in his frequently taking part 
in their sports. On one of these occasions Forgade an old 
general, happening to enter the royal chamber without 
having been previously announced, found the king en- 
gaged in a game of ball with the prince. " Forgade," said 



INFANCY. 11 

the monarch, " you are yourself a father, and know that 
fathers must at times be children with their children, — 
play with and amuse them." 

We have already taken occasion to remark, that the 
queen sought to imbue the minds of her children with her 
own charitable and benevolent feelings. She had made 
the prince her almoner at an early age. The needy who 
appealed to the well-knoAvn sympathy of her heart were 
admitted to her presence, there comforted, and their dis- 
tresses relieved by presents from the hands of the ]3rince 
royal. This virtuous habit was not without its influence 
on his subsequent character. He was as yet extremely 
young, when he gave a strong proof of how deeply the 
principles of benevolence inculcated by his mother had 
sunk into his heart. His parents had been, for some years 
after their marriage, in the habit of paying an annual 
visit to the queen's father in Hanover, and the prince 
royal generally accompanied them from the time of his 
attaining his third year. The king usually made a short 
stay at Tangermiinde, for the purpose of discussing 
matters connected with the administration of affairs with 
the provincial oflScers of state. On these occasions a con- 
siderable crowd would assemble to catch a glimpse of the 
young prince. The queen used to give him permission to 
go out freely amongst the people. On one occasion he 
begged of one of the spectators to conduct him to a 
baker's shop, where he opened his little purse, and empty- 
ing the contents upon the counter, demanded to be sup- 
plied with rolls and biscuits to that amount. One portion 
of the eatables was carried by himself, and the remainder 
by a servant. On his return he turned to the crowd, and 
divided his spoil amongst them. His parents, Avho had 
been spectators of the affair from the windows of the 
government-house, commanded that a second supply 
should be procured, in order to lengthen the enjoyment 
he felt in the distribution. Up to the time of the prince's 
attaining his twelfth year, he annually repeated this dis- 
tribution of alms at Tangermiinde, and always laid by 



12 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

some portion of his pocket-money for this purpose pre- 
vious to starting. The inliabitants of Tangermiinde were 
in the habit of styling him, par excellence^ their prince. 
On Frederick's subsequently ascending the throne, he is 
knoAvn to have asserted, that at Tangermiinde alone he 
experienced the pleasure of seeing himself really beloved 
by his subjects, and received with tears of gratitude by 
both young and old. 



BOYHOOD. 13 



CHAPTER III. 



BOYHOOD. 



Masters were provided for him at the commencement 
of his seventh year, when his education was taken out of 
the hands of his female instructors. In the room of his 
former governesses, Lieutenant-general Count Finken- 
stein and Colonel Kalkstein w^ere entrusted with the su- 
perintendence of his education. The sons of both these 
eminent men, together with some junior branches of 
the royal family, were his playmates. For one of these, 
young Count Finkenstein, the youthful attachment which 
Frederick had in boyhood formed, ripened into perma- 
nent regard ; and this young man, whom Frederick sub- 
sequently made a cabinet-minister, long enjoyed his fullest 
confidence. 

The king drew up certain instructions for both the 
tutors, as to the mode in which he wished the education 
of the young prince to be conducted. His chief aim was 
to inspire the boy with a lively spirit of Christian 
piety : — " He must," so ran the instructions, " be carefully 
informed of the omnipotence and being of the Almighty, so 
that he shall at all times feel a holy fear and veneration 
for the Deity ; this being the only means of setting bounds 
or limits to sovereign power, freed as it is from all the 
restraints of human laws and punishments." Next to 
this, veneration, respect, and esteem for his parents were 
to be inculcated, the king adding, however, the following 
fine expressions : — " But, in consideration that too great 
fear can be productive of nothing but servile love and 



14 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

slavish submission, let it be a paramount consideration 
with both the tutors, to instil into the mind of my son, 
not this slavish submission, but real love and confidence ; 
and to impress upon him, that such love and confidence 
Avill ever meet with a cordial return from me." These 
" instructions " are replete with admonitions to virtuous 
conduct : pride, arrogance, and all the whisperings of 
flattery were to be carefully guarded against. Modesty, 
moderation, economy, order, as also steady and unremit- 
ting industry, were to be on all occasions most strenuously 
enforced. As regarded scientific attainments, the instruc- 
tions confined themselves to the more practical branches. 
The prince was not to receive instruction in Latin, but 
to acquire a good style in both French and German com- 
position. As regarded history, his attention was to be 
particularly directed to the events immediately connected 
with his o\vn family and kingdom ; and especially to all 
such facts as might be calculated to shed light on the 
annals and existing relations of Prussia. Particular at- 
tention was likewise to be paid to the physical education 
of the prince, so as to invigorate his frame, without, how- 
ever, tasking his strength to excess. " Above all," such 
are the words of the instructions, "let both tutors exert 
themselves to the utmost to inspire hira with a love of 
soldiery, and carefully impress upon hiS' mind, that, as 
nothing can confer honor and fame upon a prince except 
the sword, the monarch who seeks not his sole satisfaction 
in it must ever appear a contemptible character in the 
eyes of the world." 

His scientific education was conducted by a French- 
man, Duhan, who had fled from France in his youth, and 
had been met by the monarch in the trenches of Stral- 
sund, in charge of a young count. Duhan exercised, un- 
questionably, a vast influence on the education and sub- 
sequent mode of thought of the prince royal, who was 
indebted to him for his knowledge of history and French 
literature. German literature was at that period at its 
lowest ebb ; whilst the literature of France had already 



BOYHOOD, 16 

attained the zenith of its splendor Thus Frederick's mind 
drank in all its enthusiasm from French sources ; the 
more so from the circumstance of conversation with his 
governess having rendered him more proficient in that 
than in his native tongue. For Duhan, likewise, Freder- 
ick continued to feel the strongest regard up to the hour 
of his death. 

Instruction in Latin had been interdicted by the king, 
yet Frederick has himself often in after-life asserted, that 
he had had a Latin master in early years : but whether 
with the consent of his father or not does not appear. 
He would likewise relate, how the monarch, happening 
to enter his chamber as the master was explaining some 
passages from the celebrated law of the empire, known as 
the Golden Bull, and hearing some bad Latin expression, 
addressed the tutor : " What are you doing, you scoun- 
drel, with my son ? " " Explaining the Aurea Bulla to 
him, your majesty." The king raising his staff, chased 
the pedagogue from his presence with the threat : " I 
will Aurea Bulla you, you villain ! " and the instruction 
in Latin ceased from that hour. 

The monarch, averse as he was to all the more refined 
enjoyments, yet found pleasure in music — especially in 
that powerful style of which Handel was then the great 
master ; it is even said that Handel was the monarch's 
favorite composer. The musical education of the prince 
was, therefore, not neglected. From the cathedral or- 
ganist he received the elements of instruction on the 
harpsichord, but it would appear that this instruction was 
of a very technical character. When in after-life a natural 
taste for music sprang up in his bosom, he became a 
passionate performer on the flute. The religious instruc- 
tion which was communicated to him seems to have been 
of a still more technical and superficial nature ; the most 
sublime truths and the deepest mysteries of religion 
having been presented to him in such a shape as to be 
but little calculated to produce any very lasting im- 
pression. It may be likewise regarded as a serious error 



16 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

on the part of his father, that the latter was in the habit of 
compelling him to learn by rote the Psalms and portions 
of the catechism as a punishment. That which has been 
impressed upon the memory by threats and commands, 
can hardly be expected to take deep root in the heart. 

Great pains were taken to inspire the prince during in- 
fancy with a martial spirit ; he was not alone instructed 
in all the minutiae of the service, but even the more ex- 
tended branches of strategy. At the earliest period pos- 
sible he was compelled to doflf the dress of childhood, 
assume a military uniform, and submit to the tonsure, 
which had been about this period introduced into the 
Prussian army. This latter circumstance was a severe 
trial for the boy, who had hitherto worn his flaxen locks 
in Avavy ringlets round his brow. It was, however, idle 
to oppose the will of the monarch. The court-barber was 
summoned to remove the hair from the sides of the boy's 
head. The child had to submit without a murmur, with 
the tears starting in his eyes. The barber, taking com- 
passion on the child, commenced operations with so much 
ceremony, that the attention of the king, who superin- 
tended the operation in person, became engaged with 
other matters. Taking advantage of this propitious mo- 
ment to comb the hair to the back, the barber cutoff only 
as much as was absolutely necessary. For this act of 
clemency Frederick afterwards liberally rewarded the 
considerate barber. 

In order to practise the prince in the details of the 
military service, the prince royal's cadet company was 
formed, in 1717, and afterwards increased to a battalion. 
The j)riuce w^as then placed under the guidance of a young 
subaltern officer of this battalion, De Wrenzell. With 
this young officer, whose congeniality of tastes and par- 
tiality for the flute attracted him, the prince formed a 
lasting attachment. So great was the aptitude whieli 
the prince displayed for military tactics, that he was able 
to put his little army through their exercise, much to 
the satisfaction of his grandfather, King George I. of 



BOYHOOD. 17 

England, on that monarch's visiting Berlin, and being 
confined to his room by gout. 

The king took other means, likewise, to render warfare 
a subject of interest to the prince. He fitted up a spa- 
cious chamber in the palace as an armory, and had every 
species of weapon arranged within it. Here the crown- 
prince learned the use of the various weapons without 
labor. On his attaining his fourteenth year Frederick was 
promoted to be captain, at sixteen to be major, at seven 
teen to be lieutenant- colonel, and had to discharge the 
various duties of these different posts. 

At the grand parades and general reviews all the mem- 
bers of the royal family, residing in Berlin, were re- 
quired to attend, so that the prince could perceive, long 
before he himself took any activfe part in the manoeuvres, 
the importance which his father attached to soldiery. 
He subsequently accompanied the king to the pro\incial 
reviews, and- there derived ample information as to the ad- 
ministration of the provinces. The king's plan was to 
accustom him gradually to the discharge of his regal 
functions. 

In short, his father left nothing untried in order to 
mould him to his own wishes and sentiments, and give 
him a relish for his own pleasures. Being an ardent 
lover of the chase he devoted the greater portion of his 
leisure to that sport. The prince was obliged to accom- 
XDany him on those excursions. In the evening the king 
would collect around him a number of such men as en- 
joyed his special confidence, and in this assembly, which 
bore the name of the Smoking College, beer was drank 
and tobacco smoked, according to the Dutch fashion. 
The conversation was here carried on with the most per- 
fect freedom from the restraints of court etiquette, and 
every possible topic discussed. At these meetings sev- 
eral lettered men were also present, whose duty it was to 
explain all matters mentioned in the newspapers ; but 
Avho, at the same time, completely discharged the office 
of court-buffoons. The attendance of the young princes 

2 



IS FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

was likewise required ; and they were not unf requently 
compelled to go through their military exercises, under 
the command of some of the officers present for the 
amusement of their father and his guests. At a later per- 
iod the crown-prince was formally installed as a mem- 
ber of this club. 



DISUNION BETWEEN FATHER AND SON. 19 



CHAPTER IV. 

DISUNION BETWEEN FATHER AND SON 

Under a system of control, such as we have just de- 
scribed, Frederick grew on to manhood. His exterior dis- 
played peculiar grace and elegance. In figure, slight and 
tall, his features noble and regularly formed, his every 
glance betrayed a fiery spirit ; wit and fancy were at his 
command. But this spirit could little brook to travel any 
path but its own, and its wandering from that which the 
severity of his father had marked out, dissolved the bands 
of friendship between father and son. 

It could hardly fail to have been a subject of annoyance 
to the father to find that the religious mstruction which 
was to have confirmed the crown-prince in the principles 
of Christianity, had not been attended with any extraor- 
dinary success. Some months previous to the day ap- 
pointed for his confirmation, it was announced by the 
tutors, that he had made but small progress in the doc- 
trines of revealed religion. An increased amount of 
instruction from the lips of the venerable court-chaplain, 
Nollenius, sufficed, however, to remove this impediment, 
and on the 11th of April 1727, Frederick was in a condi- 
tion to pass a public examination, make a full profession 
of faith, and receive the sacrament. 

There were, however, a thousand other matters, of 
more or less importance, which tended to contrast strongly y 
the characters of the father and son. The military 
predilections of the king, his unceasing and minute 
attention to the most triflmg details of soldiery, were as 






20 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

little to the taste of the prince, as the rude amusements 
of the chase, or the dull uniformity of country-life at 
the hunting-palace of Wusterhausen. The tobacco and 
coarse jests of the Smoking College, the feats of the rope- 
dancers, and the musical performances in which his 
father took delight, were equally unattractive. The men 
by whom his father was surrounded were not always to 
his taste, and he naturally sought out companions of 
more congenial habits. He was grave as often as his 
father was gay; and even expressions derisive of men 
and things dear to his father would at times escape 
him. Chess, which he had been taught by Duhan, Avas 
his favorite game, whilst the father preferred toccadille. 
To him his flute afforded the highest gratification, but 
the softness of its tones was but little in harmony with 
the feelings of the monarch. He was still more attached 
to literary pursuits ; the brilliancy of French poetry, but 
more especially that reckless game, which was just about 
this period opened bj^ men of the first genius in France, 
against all antiquated institutions, possessed for him, who 
felt within himself a similar power and turn of mind, 
charms the most seductive. How little such pursuits 
were congenial to the taste of the king may be readily 
conjectured. At times, too, if the father were absent, the 
tight military uniform would be discarded for the loose 
fashionable robes of France, and the long locks Avhich 
had been rescued from the hands of the barber might 
be seen falling in graceful curls around his arched 
forehead. This was of itself sufficient, when coming to the 
knowledge of the king, to excite his Avrath ; and thus many 
an unhappy hour was brought about. The father thought 
to succeed by severity, but thereby estranged the heart 
of his son the more. " Fred is a poet, and a fiddler," the 
father would often say in his anger, " and will spoil all 
my labor." 

These disagreements were the more frequent and fatal 
as there was, unfortunately, no tliird person to interpose 
and mediate between them — one, who possessing the 



DISUNION BETWEEN FATHER AND SON. 21 

confidence of both father and son, might have healed 
their differences and brought about reconcihations. The 
mother might, from her position, have been of infinite 
service in this respect ; but, unhappily, every act of hers 
tended but to Aviden the breach. The natural goodness 
of her heart was not sufficiently strong to induce her 
to sacrifice her own will to that of her lord. At an ear- 
lier period, too, conceiving that her children displayed 
more affection for their father than for herself, she felt 
her maternal pride wounded, and had even gone so far as 
to recommend some acts of disobedience. It is very pos- 
sible that the first seeds of discord between the father and 
son may have been in this way sown. 

Fraught with still worse consequences was a plan 
which she had formed, at first, certainly with the concur- 
rence of her husband, but to which she obstinately adhered, 
despite the melancholy consequences arising out of its 
prosecution. This was a scheme to connect anew the 
family of her father with her own by means of a double 
matrimonial alliance, in the hope of seeing the crown of 
England one day resting on her eldest daughter's brow. 
According to this plan the ]3rincess Wilhelmine of 
Prussia was to be united in marriage with the then 
prince royal of England, and Frederick Avas to be betrothed 
to an English princess. This proposition had been long 
canvassed and had been approved of l)y the cabinets of both 
countries, and even, despite different delays occasioned by 
officious intermeddlers, the preliminaries had been already 
adjusted. Nay, the consequences appeared of such im- 
portance, that Frederick William saw himself induced to 
enter upon an alliance with England and France, which 
was intended to counterbalance a recent alliance concluded 
between Austria and Spain; notwithstanding that the 
Prussian monarch felt in his heart convinced that Ger- 
many's only hope of salvation lay in a union of its differ- 
ent constituent members. But the conclusion of this 
measure met with continual postponements on the part of 
England, and the warmth which had hitherto existed 



22 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

between the contracting parties began to subside. As ill 
luck would have it, some improper acts were, just about 
this period, committed by Prussian recruiting-officers on 
the Hanoverian frontiers ; and this circumstance was little 
calculated to restore matters to their former friendly foot- 
ing. In a short time Frederick William would listen to 
notliing on the subject of the marriage. 

This alliance between Prussia and England had, how- 
ever, awakened the jealousy of Austria. A subordinate 
prince of the empire, whose power had already become 
half independent, was likely thereby to attain so great 
a preponderance, that the supremacy over Germany, at 
which Austria then aimed, seemed endangered. The ne- 
cessity of disengaging Prussia from this alliance, and of, 
if possible, blending it with Austria, was sufficiently obvi- 
ous. To eflfect an object so desirable the imperial general. 
Count Seckendorff, was despatched to Berlin ; and he suc- 
ceeded in turning the coolness which had occurred between 
the courts of England and Prussia to so much advantage, 
that in October, 1726, an alliance was concluded between 
Prussia and Austria at Wusterhausen ; which treaty was 
not, however, directed in any way against England. As 
a principal condition of this treaty, Frederick William 
stipulated for a recognition by the emperor of his claims 
to the hiheritance of Jillich and Berg ; and in considera- 
tion of this, he promised to recognize the pragmatic sanc- 
tion — whereby the succession to the imperial crown was 
guaranteed to the emperor's daughter, in the event of 
a failure of heirs male. The emperor counterfeited 
acquiescence in the wishes of Frederick William, but had 
in reality so little desire to abet Prussia in the enlarge- 
ment of her dominions, that he concluded, almost im- 
mediately after a treaty with the Pfalz families, who 
claimed an inheritance of those territories. By the em- 
ployment of arts the most varied, he succeeded in amusing 
the King of Prussia for a series of years with barren 
hopes, and inspiring him with confidence in the honest and 
speedy fulfilment of the stipulations. So successful were 



DISUNION BETWEEN FATHER AND SON. 23 

the plans of Count Seckendorff, that Frederick Wil- 
liam continued even warmly devoted to the interests of 
Austria ; for such was the integrity of his own character, 
that he entered with his whole soul into every contract. 
Seckendorff had not neglected to win over to the interest 
of his master the services of general, afterwards field- 
marshal, De Grumbkow, at that time one of Frederick 
William's prime favorites. This man, in return for the 
lordly pension which he held from Austria, labored un- 
ceasingly to confirm the monarch in his delusions. The 
Prussian court was now divided into two factions, the 
English and the Austrians, each of which labored to the 
utmost for the attainment of its own ends. As regarded 
the queen, she felt little disposed to relinquish the idea 
she had once adopted : on the contrary, she neglected no 
opportunity of renewing the negotiations with England. 
Her efforts, as uncompromising as they were futile, so ex- 
asperated the monarch, that all domestic peace was at an 
end. Husband and wife watched each other's motions 
with the utmost jealousy ; and their differences were still 
further fomented by the intermeddling of interested mis- 
chief-makers. The two eldest children were the princi- 
pal sufferers in the strife between the parents : and the 
more so, as the mother had completely succeeded in win- 
ning them over to her o\vn views. But this suffering in 
common had the effect of strengthening still further this 
strong reciprocal attachment. The estrangement of the 
father and son increased daily, and all prospect of any- 
thing like a cordial reconciliation wholly vanished. It 
was fated that other more important causes should con- 
spire to widen the breach still further. 

The violent temper of the monarch was not unfrequently 
attended with the most passionate outbursts ; and these 
paroxysms would again subside into feelings of despond- 
ency and gloom, as is usually the case when the feelings 
have been overwrought. His religious tendency led him 
into all the consequences of bigotry and cant, and proved 
a regular plague to his family. He had summoned from 



24 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

Halle the eminent theologian, Professor Franke ; a man, 
who, as the founder of the Orphan Asylum in that town, 
deserves the name of a philanthropist ; but professing so 
little liberalit}^ of principle, that his exertions had been 
mainly instrumental in procuring the expulsion from 
Halle of the distinguished scholar Wolff. Franke be- 
came the spokesman at the royal table, at Avhich none but 
biblical subjects were now discussed. All recreations, 
especially music and hunting, (the latter of which had 
unquestionably degenerated into cruelty, and weighed op- 
pressively on the small farmer,) were denounced as sinful. 
Every afternoon the king read a sermon to his family 
aloud ; the chamberlain commenced a chant, in which all 
present were obliged to join. This mode of life had 
but few charms for the prince royal or his eldest sister. 
The solemn gravity which was natural to one section of 
the company was affected by the other, and must have, at 
times, led to singular scenes, and probably elicited some 
derisive remarks. Laughter could not be at all times re- 
strained, despite every effort to suppress it ; but such 
levities were repressed Avith all due severity, and such 
rebukes had to be received with the most studied humilia- 
tion. The monarch went so far in this hypochondriacal 
feeling as to entertain the idea of resigning the sceptre 
and government into the hands of the prince royal : 
he even began to draw up the necessary instructions. 
His Avish was to secure for himself, and his wife and 
daughters, but a moderate provision, and to retire to 
Wusterhausen, there to devote his life to husbandry and 
prayer. The agricultural arrangements had been al- 
ready made : one princess was to superintend the linen ; 
a second, the provisions ; a third to purchase the neces- 
saries at market, and so on. 

Numerous remonstrances had been used towards the 
king, in order to induce him to relinquish this whim ; but 
they all proved for some time fruitless. The Austrian 
party, who must have been the greatest losers by the ex- 
ecution of such a project, eventually succeeded in draw- 



DISUNION BET\VEEN FATHER AND SON. 25 

ing oflf the king's attention, by creating a diversion in his 
thoughts. He was persuaded to undertake a visit to the 
briUiant court of Dresden, it having been conceived that 
the best antidotes against melancholy were to be found 
there. Promises of considerable magnitude had been also 
held out to him, in the event of his succeeding in gaining 
over Augustus II., King of Poland and Electoral-prince 
of Saxony, to an alliance with Austria. He was thus at 
length prevailed upon, although strongly against his own 
inclination, to yield. An invitation was not slow in ar- 
riving from Augustus II., and Frederick William set out 
for Dresden in the middle of the month of January, 1728. 
The prince royal had not been included in the invitation, 
much to his annoyance at thus losing so favorable a chance 
of escape, at least for a time, from the dull monotony of 
his present existence. His sister, ever anxious to gratify 
his Avishes, prevailed upon the Saxon ambassador to make 
arrangements that an invitation for the prince should be 
sent without loss of time. 

In Dresden a new world opened upon Frederick. Of 
all the arrangements to which he had been hitherto ac- 
customed at home — of that military severity — unceasing 
industry — parsimony in the conduct of the household — 
observance of the laws of morality — not a trace was here 
discernible. The existence of this court was passed 
in one unbroken round of revelry. Fete succeeded fete, 
and ingenuity was tortured to preclude satiety or disgust. 
Life was here adorned with all the adventitious aids of 
art, and everything capable of at all adding to the enjoy- 
ment of existence was to be found here. King Augustus, 
a man of refined parts, of a highly chivalrous spirit, 
and gigantic strength, had devoted his life to the worship 
of pleasure, and penetrated into all its mysteries. He 
was anxious that the few weeks during which his royal 
guests were about to sojourn with him should pass like 
the illusions of a dream. That for the support of his 
riotous enjoyments his subjects groaned beneath oppres- 
sion — that the prosperity of his kingdom was reduced to 



26 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

the last stage of exhaustion — these were matters which he 
had no wish to obtrude upon the notice of the Prussian 
king. 

The court of Augustus II. resembled a regular seraglio. 
Mistress succeeded mistress, and the number of his 
children it were difficult to calculate. Amongst his sons 
was Moritz, who became afterwards so distinguished in the 
annals of France, under the title of Marshal Saxe, and for 
whom Frederick formed a friendship Avhich lasted to 
the marshal's death. Amongst his daughters was one 
bearing the title of Countess Orzelsha, particularly dis- 
tinguished for her beauty. She Avas some years older 
than Frederick ; her graceful figure, education, brilliant 
wit and humor made an irresistible impression upon his 
heart. She sometimes appeared in man's apparel, and 
this but tended to heighten her charms. Frederick found 
himself mastered by an irresistible passion, and his suit 
met with no rejection from the lovely countess. 

In the meantime Frederick William had been com- 
pletely cured of his hypochondria. The pleasures of the 
table and the sparkling tokay had done their duty, and it 
seemed as if a lasting friendship was in course of formation 
between the two kings. But the connubial fidelity 
which the Prussian monarch, in his citizen-like simplicity, 
preserved towards his queen, may have seemed strange 
enough to the Polish king. Curiosity prompted the latter 
to test the strength of this virtuous resolution, which in 
his eyes, appeared so singular. To this end he made the 
necessary dispositions. One evening, after thej^ had par- 
taken pretty freely of the sparkling tokay, they pro- 
ceeded in dominos to a masked ball. King Augustus 
conversed with his guest, and conducted him from room 
to room, followed by the prince royal and some others. 
They at length arrived within a richly-furnished 
chamber, the decorations of which evinced the most re- 
fined taste. As the Prussian king was about to express 
his admiration of everything around him, a curtain was 
suddenly withdrawn, and an unlooked-for spectacle pre- 



DISUNION BETWEEN FATHER AND SON. 27 

sented itself to the monarch's eyes. A nymph, slightly ar- 
rayed in loose robes, and masked, reclined on a couch ; 
the brilliant tapers which filled the room revealing the 
most voluptuous form. Augustus, seemingly astonished, 
approached her with that easy gallantry by which he had 
already won so many female hearts. He entreated her 
to remove her mask ; a proposition to which she signified 
her disinclination by a motion of her hand. Mentioning 
his rank, he gave expression to the hope, that she would 
not refuse this favor to the entreaties of two crowned 
heads. These words were of course a command, and a 
face of most exquisite beauty met their gaze. Augustus 
appeared completely enchanted, and gave utterance to his 
surprise, that such beauty and attractions should have so 
long escaped his notice. Frederick William, perceiving 
that his son was a spectator of the scene, hastily placed 
his hat before the youth's eyes, and commanded him to 
withdraw instantly. To this, however, the latter seemed 
but little inclined. Turning to Augustus, the King of 
Prussia dryly remarked : " She is very pretty ; " and im- 
mediately withdrew with his retinue from the chamber 
and ball. In his apartments he complained bitterly to his 
favorites of the ungracious conduct of the King of Po- 
land, and much labor was necessary, in order to bring 
about a reconciliation between them. But the single 
glance which Frederick had obtained had fallen like a 
burning brand into his heart. 

It is possible that the object of Augustus in preparing 
the above scene, was, in reality, by an offer of so much 
beauty, to draw Frederick off from the object of his own 
amours. For this purpose the young lady of the en- 
chanted chamber may have been offered to Frederick's 
notice, — an offer which Frederick was not slow in ac- 
cepting. 

After having thus passed some weeks in Dresden, and 
obtained a promise of a visit from Augustus in return, 
Frederick William departed for his own capital. He 
here resumed his former mode of life. The prince royal 



28 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

fell into despondency, ate but little, and declined percep- 
tibly in appearance ; so that there seemed even symptoms 
of approaching consumption. The king entertained sus- 
picions that the kind of life which the prince had been 
leading at Dresden was the cause of his present delicate 
state of health ; but a medical investigation confirmed 
the apprehensions as to his tendency to consumption. 
The monarch had been advised to get the prince married 
as, soon as possible, but he would not listen to any such 
counsels, and was of opinion that strict surveillance was 
amply sufficient to guard against all irregularities of con- 
duct. It was at this period that Frederick composed his 
first poems, which were devoted to the charms of Or- 
zelska. On the court of Dresden subsequently paying, in 
return, a visit to the court of Berlin, in the month of May 
following, and on Orzelska's appearing in the train, the 
prince became at once convalescent, and cured of his de- 
jection. They contrived to arrange many private inter- 
views. This visit, for which unusual preparations had 
been made, in order that Berlin might not be surpassed 
by Dresden in splendor, was of several weeks' duration. 



DISCORD BETWEEN FATHER AND SON. 29 



CHAPTER V. 

DISCORD BETWEEN FATHER AND SON. 

In proportion as the feelings of independence which 
manhood awakens began to unfold themselves in the 
bosom of Frederick, the less inclination did he feel to sub- 
mit to the dictates of his father's will, which was ever in 
opposition to his own ; and the severity with which the 
father exacted the strict execution of his mandates, in- 
creasing in exactly the same ratio, scenes of a distressing 
nature had already begun to be of no rare occurrence. 
An alliance with an English princess had now for Fred- 
erick the additional charm of seeming to promise a 
greater measure of liberty. It was, therefore, with en- 
tire sincerity that he proffered his mother his fullest co- 
operation for the furtherance of her favorite scheme ; he 
even went so far as to pen a letter himself to the court of 
England on the subject. But the relation between Eng- 
land and Prussia had in the meantime undergone very 
serious alterations. George I., whose death occurred in 
1727, had been succeeded by his son, George II., between 
whom and Frederick William of Prussia there had al- 
ways existed a strong feeling of dislike, which had even 
manifested itself in childhood. They were now carrying 
on a war of abusive epithets. The English monarch was 
in the habit of styling Frederick William " his well-be- 
loved brother the Corporal," or "the Arch- Sand-shaker 
of the Holy Roman Empire ; " (because the Prussian 
king, notwithstanding the very considerable military 
force at his disposal, had always displayed the most 



30 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

marked preference for the arbitration of the pen over 
that of the sword ;) he was in turn styled by Frederick 
William, " his well-beloved brother the Mountebank ; " 
or, still less wittily, "his brother Brown Cabbage." This 
ill-feeling between the monarchs was, of course, a matter 
of high gratification to the members of the Austrian 
party, who naturally neglected no opportunity of foment- 
ing this ill-will. Nor were other causes of irritation 
wanting ; the excesses and violent acts of the Prussian 
recruiting officers had been adopted and countenanced by 
the king ; and this seemed all that was necessary to turn 
the scale, and convert the private feuds of the kings into 
open hostilities between the nations. In truth, every prep- 
aration was made for war, which had certainly broken 
out, were it not that some of the German princes, to 
whom the tranquillity of Germany was dear, interfered. 
All this contributed to render the subject of the matri- 
monial alliance more odious to Frederick William, and 
enkindle his resentment against all favorers of that 
scheme. The fact of the crown-prince having written to 
England coming to his knowledge, excited his utmost in- 
dignation. Fits of gout tending still further to inflame 
the natural irritability of his temper, his two eldest chil- 
dren had little lenity of treatment to expect at his hands. 
The brother and sister sought to indemnify themselves 
for the harshness with which they were treated by the 
warmth of their mutual affection and co-operation. 
French literature formed their only resource. Amongst 
the works which they read together was Scarron's comic 
J novel, the satirical portions of which they wrought into 
a drama, in which each member of the hated Austrian 
faction, the king not excepted, had his part assigned him. 
This production was shown to their mother ; but she, in- 
stead of censuring this disrespectful conduct of the chil- 
dren towards their parent, was pleased with the talent 
for satire which its execution evinced. 

During the summer of 1729, as the royal family were 
sojourning for some time at Wusterhausen, the violent 



DISCORD BETWEEN FATHER AND SON. 31 

hostility of the monarch towards his two eldest children 
became such, that they were banished altogether both 
from his and their mother's presence, except during meals. 
It was only by stealth, and when the monarch was en- 
gaged in his afternoon walk, that the mother ventured to 
enjoy the society of her two children ; and even on these 
occasions sentinels were regularly posted to give warning 
of the king's approach, as no very mild treatment was to 
be expected in the event of the monarch's detecting any 
infringement of his commands. On one of these occa- 
sions, these piquets had discharged their duty so inef- 
ficiently, that on a sudden, and quite unexpectedly, the 
king's well-kno^vn footfall was heard in the corridor. 
As the queen's chamber presented no means of egress, 
there was little hope of safety, other than the conceal- 
ment of the prince in a clothes-press, whilst his sister 
secreted herself under the queen's bed. The king, ex- 
hausted by the heat, seated himself in his chair, and con- 
tinued to doze in that position for two weary hours, dur- 
ing which neither of the criminals dared to quit their 
uncomfortable prisons. 

Similar infractions of the royal commandments led to 
similar scenes. Frederick had, during his stay in Dres- 
den, made the acquaintance of Quantz, a distinguished 
performer on the flute, and was extremely anxious to 
avail himself of the instructions of this eminent virtuoso. 
The efforts of Frederick's mother, who was anxious for 
the cultivation of her son's musical taste, to win the 
services of Quantz for her household were unsuccessful, 
as King Augustus was not disposed to part with his 
favorite : permission was, however, obtained for Quantz 
to visit Berlin once a year, in order to instruct Frederick 
in the higher essentials of a finished performer. It is 
hardly necessary to observe that such visits Avere to re- 
main a profound secret from the king. During one of 
these visits the prince and the musician were seated to- 
gether in the most perfect composure; Frederick had 
exchanged his tight, suffocating, military uniform for a 



33 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

loose, comfortable dressing-gown of gold brocade, his stiff 
curls had been dispensed with, and his flowing hair con- 
fined in a bag. On a sudden the door of the chamber 
opened, and Lieutenant De Katte, a friend of Frederick's 
burst into the room, and announced that the king, whose 
presence was at that hour wholly unlocked for, was close 
at hand. The danger was imminent, and the dressing- 
gown of the prince, as well as the scarlet coat of the mu- 
sician — scarlet being a color for which the king was known 
to cherish the most decided aversion — w^ere not exactly 
calculated to allay the impending storm. Katte had just 
time to seize the box containing the notes and musical 
instruments m one hand, and grasping the maestro witt 
the other, fly with him into a small adjacent recess, which 
served for lighting the stoves. Frederick had, likewise, 
scarcely time to slip on the uniform and hide the dressing- 
go^vn, when the king entered. The monarch felt evi- 
dently disposed to pass the chamber in review. That 
all was not right was sufficiently indicated by the presence 
of the hair-bag, an article which could in no way be 
brought into unison with the regulation of any known 
military costume. Subsequent investigations led the 
monarch to the discovery of certain shelves, which were 
screened from observation by the paper-hangings, and 
which had formed the depository for both books and 
dressing-gowns. The latter articles were immediately 
committed by the monarch to the flames, whilst the 
former were returned to the bookseller. Fortunately the 
lurking-]3lace of our virtuoso escaped detection ; but as 
long as the musician continued his secret visits, he took 
very particular care not to appear again within the pre- 
cincts of Frederick William's palace in a scarlet coat. 

Other matters were perhaps still more calculated, when 
coming to the ears of the king, to embitter him against 
Frederick. The visit to Dresden had been productive 
of the worst consequences to the purity of Frederick's 
mind. The licentious images which had there floated be- 
fore his eyes, the pleasures which he had there tasted, 



DISCORD BETWEEN FATHER AND SON. 33 

left him no peace, and the cravings of nature, once felt, 
became imperious in their demands. For the heir to a 
throne, be his conduct ever so narrowly watched, the re- 
straints of morality are of easy evasion, if the warning 
voice of conscience impose no check ; aiding hands are 
never wanting to the high in station. The prince's first 
confidant was a Lieutenant De Keith, one of the royal 
pages, whose mild and sympathizing disposition induced 
him to view the distress of the prince with compassion, aiid 
whose position near the person of the monarch enabled 
him to give information of the feelings and intentions of 
the king, and thereby avert many unhappy scenes. In the 
prince's love-adventures, too, Keith rendered good service, 
as beseemed a royal page. The circumstance of both Fred- 
erick's tutors having been dismissed just at this period, 
left him still more exposed to the dictates of his passions. 
The father had been induced to take this latter step at 
the suggestion of Grumbkow, who, finding his Austrian 
views thwarted by the abilities of one of these tutors, 
Count Finkenstein, who had been indebted for his appoint- 
ment to the interest of the queen, represented to the mon- 
arch how unseemly, now that Frederick had attained his 
present age, the continuance of such control had become. 
In the room of the tutors, two persons. Colonel De Ro- 
chow and Lieutenant De Keyserling were appointed com- 
panions ; but the superintendence of the actions of the 
prince formed no part of their duty. The latter of these 
two, De Keyserling, afterwards became Frederick's most 
intimate friend ; his lively imagination, gaiety of disposi- 
tion, and cultivated taste endeared him to Frederick even 
from the first ; but their intimacy never partook of that 
confidential character which subsisted between the prince 
and Keith. 

This perpetual association of Frederick and Keith at 
length attracted the observation of the king, and was 
regarded by him with no favorable eye. Keith was 
shortly after dismissed to a regiment stationed at Wesel ; 
but this separation availed but little. The prince was not 



34 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

long in finding a second, and far more dangerous associate, 
in Lieutenant De Katte. Katte's manners and address 
were engaging, though his exterior was anything but pre- 
possessing; his shaggy, knitted brow, lending his physiog- 
nomy an even ominous aspect. Depraved in mind him- 
self, he sought but to confirm Frederick in his vicious 
course. Nor did he want sufiicient subtlety to enable him 
by plausible sophistries to gloss over such excesses : he 
had, by weaving together scraps of doctrines, which he 
but half comprehended, wrought out a system of fatalism, 
according to which, man, being without free will, and, 
consequently, without guilt, was the mere passive agent 
of predestined crimes. For doctrines such as these he 
found in Frederick a willing disciple. Nor did Katte 
possess even the necessary discretion for a post of so 
much danger : vain of the confidence which Frederick 
reposed in him, so far from taking any pains to hide it, 
he would even, at times, make a display of Frederick's 
letters, and much of their contents may have in this way 
reached the ears of the king. 

The monarch had been for some time on the watch for 
an opportunity to inflict some serious punishment upon 
the prince. He had been already nowise sparing in the 
application - of coarse epithets and harsh treatment. 
Frederick had been compelled to serve as an ensign for 
a long period. He had to hear, on public occasions, from 
the lips of the king the taunting expressions, " that had 
his (the king's) father treated him in the same way, he 
should have long since run away from him ; but that such 
a step required more courage than Frederick could boast." 
Whenever the king met him in public, he invariably 
threatened him with his cane ; and the prince had already 
assured his sister, that in the event of its coming to actual 
violence, he should be certainly compelled to seek safety 
in flight. Numerous and peremptory were the demands 
of the king that Frederick should resign the right of suc- 
cession in favor of his brother, Augustus William, who 
was ten years younger, and had moulded himself com- 



DISCORD BETWEEN FATHER AND SON. 35 

pletely to the wishes of his father, and for whom the 
monarch displayed on all occasions a preference the most 
marked. To such demands the prince replied, that he 
would sooner submit to have his head cut off than forego 
his good rights : he, however, after a time, declared his 
readiness to acquiesce in the proposed arrangement, on 
condition of his father's making a public declaration, that 
his exclusion from the throne was in consequence of his 
being an illegitimate son. To this condition the father 
could not possibly, as being at variance with his princi- 
ples, assent. 

To all the foregoing causes of disagreement we must 
still add one ; namely, that the occupations and pleasures 
in which Frederick indulged rendered supplies of money, 
more or less considerable, necessary. The fund known 
as the prince royal's was large ; but the sums over which 
Frederick had the virtual disposition were very insignifi- 
cant. He found himself, accordingly, compelled to borrow 
money from strangers. It had come to the knowledge 
of the king that he had borrowed a sum of 7000 thalers, 
or about £1000, from Berlin merchants. Whereupon 
there appeared an edict, rendering a former one to the 
samxC effect more stringent, and forbidding any person, 
under severe penalties, and even on pain of death, to lend 
money to minors, but more especially to the prince royal 
or any of the junior branches of the royal family. The 
king paid the 7000 thalers, and the prince, on being ques- 
tioned, admitted being further indebted to some small 
amount. The total of his debts was, in reality, somewhat 
more than double that, under the circumstances, very 
considerable sum. 

The contracting of debts was, unquestionably, that 
which made the most unfavorable impression upon the 
father ; and this it was which, when the thunder-cloud 
afterwards burst upon the head of Frederick, was singled 
out from the whole catalogue of his crimes as the blackest, 
and the one with which he was most repeatedly up- 
braided. 



36 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

The impetuosity of the monarch's rage, which seemed 
at times to deprive him of reason, impelled him to com- 
mit acts of violence similar to the one which we are now 
about to detail. We cannot omit the present painful 
sketch, as it alone places what follows in its true light, 
and enables us to estimate the difficulty of the recon- 
ciliation afterwards effected. We give the occurrence as 
we find it detailed in the Memoirs of Frederick's eldest 
sister, — a source from which we have already borrowed 
many characteristic traits of Frederick's youth, — or 
rather, in Frederick's own words, as recorded by his 
sister : " They are daily preaching patience to me, (Fred- 
erick observes to his sister, in a stolen interview,) but no 
one knows how much I have to bear. I am daily beaten, 
treated as a slave, and debarred every amusement. Even 
the enjoyments of reading and music are denied me. I 
am not permitted to hold converse with anybody, and 
am surrounded on all sides with spies — unprovided with 
even sufficient clothing, still less with other necessaries. 
But that which has completely overpowered me is my 
father's recent treatment of me at Potsdam. The king 
summoned me, and on my entering, he seized me by the 
hair, flung me to the ground, and, after having beaten me 
with his fists, dragged me towards the window, and there, 
coiling the string of the curtain round my throat, pulled 
both ends with his utmost might. I had, fortunately, 
time to get upon my feet, and seize his arms ; but as he 
tugged with both his hands I felt I was being strangled, 
and cried out for aid. A chamberlain rushed to my 
assistance, and rescued me by force out of the hands of 
the king. Say now, yourself, whether I have anything 
left but to fly. Katte and Keith are ready to follow me to 
the utmost limits of the world. I have the passports and 
orders for money all arranged, so that I run no risk. I 
shall fly to England ; they will there receive me with 
open arms, and I shall have nothing to apprehend from 
the anger of my father. Of all this I have said nothing 
to the queen — that she, in the event of her being put 



DISCORD BETWEEN FATHER AND SON. 37 

upon her oath, may be able to swear that she knew noth- 
ing of the matter. As soon as the king sets out on his 
next journey outside his dominions, we will embrace the 
opportunity and start." His sister used her best efforts 
to dissuade him from his purpose, but renewed acts of ill- 
treatment confirmed him in his determination. 

An opportunity offered shortly after, which seemed 
highly favorable to the execution of his design, inasmuch 
as the king undertook a journey to Saxony, attended by 
all the princes and several distinguished officers, in order 
to be present at a grand encampment, which Augustus 
had arranged at Muhlberg. The fantastic splendor with 
which the Prussian court Avas here received could but ill 
conceal the angry feelings of the Prussian king. The 
irascible temperament of the monarch derived fresh 
excitement from the suspicion that all the glittering 
pomp with which he was invested by the Polish king 
was in reality but a specious appearance, and planned 
solely with a view to lull him completely to rest, whilst 
Augustus was actively employed in pushing his claims 
to the contested inheritance of Jiilick and Berg. The 
prince requested the cabinet-minister of Augustus to pro- 
vide post-horses for two officers about to visit Leipzig 
incognito. The minister had his suspicions, and com- 
municated them to his master; whereupon the Polish 
monarch, who was peculiarly anxi(5us to avoid an open 
rupture with the king of Prussia, exacted from the prmce 
a promise that he would make no attempt at escaping as 
long as the Prussian court sojourned in Saxony. Fred- 
erick was thus compelled to remain inactive, and await 
some more fitting opportunity. But his hesitation was 
fraught with danger, for he had, without being aware of 
it, allowed many unguarded expressions to escape him, 
and thereby put the king upon his guard. By renewed 
acts of severity, even in the Saxon camp, the king thought 
to coerce him; but such a line of conduct of course 
defeated its own object. 

There appeared, in the meantime, a prospect of a 



38 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

favorable change in Frederick's painful condition. We 
have already stated that the hostile relations between 
England and Prussia had been adjusted through the 
mediation of other German powers. The English court 
was at this time sincere in its professions, so much so 
that an ambassador extraordinary was despatched to 
Berlin to renew the negotiations as to the double matri- 
monial alliance, and bring it, if possible, to a speedy con- 
clusion. But England was particularly anxious to assure 
itself of the personal feelings of the monarch, and to take 
him out of the hands of the Austrian faction. To this 
end the dismissal of Grumbkow, whose traitorous servility 
to Austria admitted of ample documentary proof, was 
insisted upon. The Austrian party naturally strained 
every nerve to work upon the monarch's weakness, and 
defeat this object, and their exertions were, unhappily, 
but too successful. The king made use of some unbecom- 
ing expressions whilst in conversation with the English 
ambassador, and the latter held it beneath his dignity to 
renew the negotiations. Thus this transient gleam of 
hope vanished ; and the irritability of the Prussian mon- 
arch was still further inflamed. All that now remained 
for Frederick amidst such an accumulation of misfortunes 
was — flight. 



ATTEMPT AT FLIGHT. 39 



CHAPTER VI. 

ATTEMPT AT FLIGHT. 

Not more than a few weeks had elapsed when a second 
opportunity for flight, and one seemingly more favorable 
than that offered by the encampment in Saxony, pre- 
sented itself. The king had entered upon a tour through 
Southern Germany, and Frederick had been required to 
accompany him. The father having a knowledge of 
Frederick's designs, had been long in doubt whether it 
were safer to leave him behind or take him with him. 
He ultimately decided in favor of the latter, in order to 
have him perpetually under his own eye. As a measure 
of precaution, three officers of rank were charged to 
watch him narrowly ; one of the three to sit continually 
beside him in the carriage. Frederick had, however, in 
concert with Katte, — although the latter had, at first, 
seriously endeavored to dissuade him, — formed his plans. 
He had written from the Saxon camp to the King of 
England, and sought the protection of the British court, 
but had received a reply, in which he was strongly cau- 
tioned against taking such a step. This had no effect 
upon his resolves; he still determined to fly through 
France to England. Katte received the custody of the 
prince's money, jewels, and papers. It was arranged that 
the moment he heard of the prince's departure he should 
start for England, and make the necessary dispositions 
for Frederick's reception there. To this end he was to 
apply for leave of absence, on pretence of going on the 
recruiting service. Keith had likewise notice of Fred- 
erick's intentions. 



40 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

On the 18th July, 1730, the Prussian court left Berlin, 
and proceeded through Leipzig to Ansbach, where the 
king paid a visit to his second daughter, who had been 
married in the preceding year to the Margrave of Ansbach. 
Frederick made, even here, an attempt at escape. He 
repeatedly, and in pressing terms, solicited his brother- 
in-law to lend him one of his best horses, for the purpose, 
as he stated, of taking a ride. The favor was not grante( 
as information of Frederick's intentions had ah^ead} 
reached Ansbach. Frederick here received a letter from 
Katte, advising him to postpone his flight, until after his 
arrival in Wesel, from whence he could escape the more 
readily to England through Holland. To this Frederick 
replied, that he could not postpone liis departure much 
longer — that at Sinzheim, through which, according to 
their itinerary, they should pass, he would separate him- 
self from the king's suite ; that Katte should meet him 
at the Hague, under the assumed name of Count Alber- 
ville, and that, in the event of his being pursued, the 
monasteries on the road would afford him a safe asylum. 
In the haste in which this letter was penned, Frederick 
had forgotten to direct it to Berlin, and had merely 
superscribed it via Nurenberg. Owing to this omission, 
the luckless epistle fell into the hands of a cousin of 
Katte's of the same name, who resided in the latter city. 

From Ansbach the king continued his journey through 
Augsburg to Ludwigsburg, where he paid a visit to the 
Duke of Wurtemberg. From thence he proceeded to 
Manheim. By this route he must have passed through 
Sinzheim, as stated by Frederick. It chanced, however, 
that the village of Steinfurth, a few miles distant from 
the town of Sinzheim, and not the town itself, was the 
place selected for passing the night. The king, whose 
habits were by no means of a luxurious character, selected 
some barns for the lodgment of himself and suite, pre- 
ferring these airy quarters to the rather confined bed- 
chambers of an inn. A barn had been assigned to the 
prince, and was shared by Colonel de Rochow and his 



ATTEMPT AT FLIGHT. 41 

attendant. Frederick now concerted his measures ac- 
cording to the circumstances. Taking advantage of the 
good-natured credulity of one of the king's pages — a 
brother of his friend Keith — he persuaded him that he 
had a love affair in the neighborhood — that he required 
horses, and begged of him to awaken him at the early 
hour of four o'clock on the following morning. It being 
market-day in the town the purchase of the horses was a 
matter of uo great difficulty. The page obeyed the in- 
structions with alacrity ; but instead of awakening the 
prince, he mistook the bed, and av/oke the valet. The 
latter had sufficient presence of mind to conceal his sus- 
picions, and lay in bed observing all that passed. The 
prince sprang up, dressed himself hurriedly, not, how- 
ever, in his uniform, but in a French dress and a red 
surtout, which he had privately got made during the 
journey. But no sooner had Frederick left the barn than 
the servant awoke Colonel de Rochow, and informed him 
of all he had observed. The colonel immediately sum- 
moned three officers of the king's household, and went 
with them in search of Frederick. They found him in 
the market-place leaning against a cart, awaiting the 
arrival of the page. His French dress confirmed their 
suspicions, and they ventured most respectfully to in- 
quire the motive of his rising so early. Frederick, bursting 
with rage and disappointment, might have been, at that 
moment, capable of the most desperate resolves, had he 
been provided with arms. He returned an abrupt and 
sullen answer. Rochow informed him that the king had 
already arisen, and intended resuming his journey in less 
than half an hour ; he advised him, therefore, to return 
with all possible dispatch, change his French dress, and 
thereby prevent the circumstance from coming to the 
ears of his father. Frederick refused, alleging that he 
intended to take a walk, and would return in sufficient 
time. Meanwhile the page arrived with the horses, and 
Frederick strove to mount one of them. This the officers 
prevented : he was compelled to return and put on hi$ 



^2 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

uniform, but not without the most desperate resistance 

on his ixirt. 

The king had been made aware of the circumstance, 
but dissembled all knowledge of it, in order to sound the 
plans of Frederick the more thoroughly. It was not until 
the cortege had left Manheim and reached Darmstadt, 
that the king sarcastically remarked to Frederick, how 
surprised he was to see him there, as he had supposed 
him to have been long since in Paris. The prince dog- 
gedly repUed, " that were he so inclined, he might pos- 
sibly have been there ere this." 

But the catastrophe was much nearer at hand than 
could have been reasonably anticipated. Hardly had the 
king arrived at Frankfort on the Mame, from whence 
the royal route lay down the rivers Maine and Rhine, as 
far as Wesel, when he received from Katte's cousin an 
express, transmitting Frederick's letter, which, from its 
threatening contents, the latter had not conceived him- 
self warranted in suppressing. The king, immediately 
on the receipt of the above, issued orders that Frederick 
should be confined in close custody on board one of the 
vessels which were to transport the royal train down the 
rivers. The following day the king came on board this 
vessel, and on seeing Frederick, became so completely 
overpowered by passion, that he fell upon and beat him 
so unmercifully with his cane as to make the blood stream 
down his face. Frederick, writhing with pain, ex- 
claimed, "Never, till now, has a Brandenburg face been 
thus disgraced ! " The officers present rescued him from 
the violence of his father, and prevailed upon the latter 
to permit him to continue the journey in a separate 
vessel. He was now treated as a state-prisoner; his 
papers and sword were demanded from him ; he had, 
however, succeeded, by means of his attendant, in burning 
all his letters, which might otherwise have had the effect 
of compromising many. 

Rarely has a tour on the Rhine's fair stream been at- 
tended Avith more melancholy circumstances. The visits, 



i 



ATTEMPT AT FLIGHT. 43 

which were of necessity paid to the various spmtual 
princes in the neighborhood, were dispatched with as 
little ceremony as possible. Frederick's anxiety was not 
so much on his own account, as from a regard for those 
whom he had hurried along Avith him into destruction. 
Still he felt assured that Katte, who was already fully 
equipped for flight, Avould preserve sufficient presence of 
mind to provide for his own safety. Keith had received, 
ere the king had arrived in Wesel, a slip of paper, on which 
the prince had written, in penciUing, the words, " Save 
yourself— all is discovered." Keith lost no time : he m- 
stantly sprang on horseback, and reached the Dutch fron- 
tier in safety. Even at the Hague, when pursued by a 
Prussian officer whom Frederick William had dispatched 
to arrest him, he was so fortunate as to escape to England 
in a fishing-boat. From England he passed over to 
Portugal, mto the service of which latter country he sub- 
sequently entered. 

On arriving at Wesel Frederick was placed in con- 
finement, and his chamber guarded by sentinels with 
fixed bayonets. On the day following, the commander 
of the fortress. Major von der Mosel, received orders to 
conduct the prince into the presence of the king. On 
Frederick's entrance his father inquired, in a threatening 
tone why he had sought to desert. " Because," replied 
the prince, "you have treated me not as a son but as a 
slave." " You are a faithless deserter," cried the king, 
"without heart or honor in your composition." As 
much of both as yourself," replied the prince ; " and I 
have done but that which you have a thousand times 
told me you would have done were you in my position ! " 
These words infuriated the king to such a degree, that 
he drew his sword, and would certainly have run the 
prince through the body had it not been for the interfer- 
ence of General Mosel, who interposed himself, and ex- 
claimed " Kill me, sire, but spare your son ! " This bold 
conduct of the general made the king pause, and the 
former, taking advantage of the moment, succeeded in 



44 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

removing the prince to his chamber in safety. The 
other generals then prevailed upon the king to avoid 
coming in contact with the prince in future, and to 
entrust his custody to officers on whom he could rely. 
The king departed for Berlin a few days afterwards, 
leaving Frederick behind him in custody at Wesel. 

The officers in charge of the prince had instructions 
to set out from Wesel with him somewhat later, and to 
transport him with all possible secrecy and dispatch to 
Mitten walde ; where he was to remain for the present. It 
was forbidden them to enter the Hanoverian territories 
during their progress, in order to avoid any attempt at a 
rescue through English agency. They were, likewise, to 
be extremely circumspect, and prevent his holding com- 
munication with any person whatsoever. Notmthstand- 
ing all these precautions, Frederick had nigh escaped in 
Wesel. The severity with which his father treated him 
was only equalled by the love which the people testified 
towards him, and his misfortunes had called forth perfect 
enthusiasm in his favor. Not a few would have even ven- 
tured their lives to purchase his freedom. He had been 
already provided with a rope-ladder, and the dress of a 
peasant girl ; and in this disguise had descended, during 
the night, from his chamber- window, when a sentinel, 
whom he had not observed, challenged him. Nothing 
now remained but to surrender himself to his fate : he 
suffered himself to be removed from Wesel the following 
day, without offering any opposition. He made no 
further attempt at escape during the journey, although 
the Landgrave of Hessen-Cassel, and the Duke of Saxon- 
Gotha, would not have been disinclined to protect him 
from the violence of his father, — of this he was not, how- 
ever, aware. 



THE TRIAL. 45 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE TRIAL. 



Katte had wholly neglected the necessary precautions 
for his own safety. Rumors of the arrest of the prince 
royal had already reached Berlin, and as Katte's con- 
nection with Frederick was but too well known, voices 
came from all sides whispering caution; but despite 
these repeated warnings, Katte lingered, complacently 
awaiting the completion of a French saddle, in the secret 
recesses of which he intended to conceal the papers, 
money, and jewels, which he proposed taking with him. 
At length he solicited — it was on the evening of the night 
on which the order for his arrest arrived — leave of ab- 
sence from his commanding oflBlcer for the following day, 
ostensibly for the purpose of joining a hunting party. 
The execution of the order for arrest had been delayed 
until there was every reason to believe that he had ef- 
fected his escape ; but great was the surprise of every 
one, on the officers going at length to his lodgings, to 
And him but in the act of setting out. His fate was now 
decided ; he had to surrender himself as their prisoner. 
To the queen he transmitted a sealed box, containing the 
papers and jewels of the prince royal. 

The order for arrest had been accompanied by a letter 
from the king, directed to the mistress of the queen's 
household, requesting her to inform her majesty of the 
prince's attempt at desertion, and his subsequent imprison- 
ment. The confusion and dismay which this intelligence 
spread through the royal family were still further in- 



^g FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

creased by the receipt of the box from Katte, which they 
dared not venture to destroy, but which might contam 
not only much that was prejudicial to Frederick but even 
to the queen herself, and more especially to the eldest 
daughter An extensive correspondence had always been 
kept up between the several members of the family, with- 
out the knowledge of the father ; and expressions had been 
used, particularly in relation to the project of the double 
alliance, in which the homage due to the king may have 
been at times lost sight of. It was finally resolved to re- 
move the seals, force the lock, burn all papers of a danger- 
ous character, and substitute others, of various dates and of 
a more harmless character, in their stead. The box was 
afterwards resealed with a crest as nearly resembhng the 
former as it was possible to obtain. , ^ t, i- 

On the 27th of August the king returned to Berlin. 
His first demand was for the box. On its production, such 
was his impatience to learn the contents, that he burst it 
open without examination, and took out the letters. It 
was his firm belief that the intended flight of the prince 
was the result of a regular plot, set on foot by England, 
and in which the queen and his eldest daughter were im- 
plicated He even went the length of suspecting that 
ulterior views, beyond the mere matrimonial alliances, 
were entertained. His finding nothing in the box con- 
firmatory of his suspicions, instead of tranquillizing him, 
had merely the effect of exasperating him the more, as he 
suspected some fraud had been practised upon him His 
entire vengeance was now directed against his family, and 
against his eldest daughter in particular. He s/ore that 
he would have the prince royal executed, and that Ins 
eldest daughter should share the same fate. No one ven- 
tured to oppose him, except Madame de Kamecke, the 
mistress of the queen's household. She followed him to 
his chamber, and besought him to spare the feelings of the 
queen, and to regard the step Frederick had taken in its 
proper light, as the effect of youthful indiscretion. " It 
has been, as yet," said she, addressing him, « your pride to 



THE TRIAL. 47 

be a just and pious king, and for that God has blessed you ; 
now you want to become a tyrant — beware of the wrath 
of God ! Sacrifice your son to your fury, but be assured 
of the vengeance of Heaven. Call Peter the Great and 
Philip the Second to mind : they died without heirs, and 
their memory is regarded by men with horror ! " These 
words seemed to make some impression upon the king ; 
it was, however, but transient. 

Katte had been, in the meantime, summoned and legally 
tried. The prisoner was greeted, on his arrival in the 
royal presence, with the most furious ill-treatment. Katte 
replied to the various questions put to him with compo- 
sure : he admitted participation in the intended flight of 
the prince royal ; that it had been the intention of the 
latter to seek protection in England from his father's dis- 
pleasure ; that he, Katte, had formed the medium of com- 
munication between Frederick and the English embassy : 
he declared that his plan had not been communicated to 
the princess Wilhelmine ; and that, as regarded any un- 
dertaking hostile to the king's person, or in any way affect- 
ing him, such an idea had never been entertained. He 
then appealed to the letters of the prince royal. A second 
inspection of the latter led, of course, to nothing further 
of a criminatory character. But the suspicion that the 
more important papers had been destroyed still continu- 
ing to work upon the king's mind, the princess Wilhel- 
mine was the victim of continual ill-treatment. At the 
conclusion of the trial, Katte was stripped of his uniform, 
and conducted to the chief guard-house, clad in a linen 
smock-frock. The other friends of the prince royal, and 
all such as seemed to sympathize with him, even although 
no participation in the present plot could be traced to 
them, were treated with the most extreme rigor ; thus, 
for instance, his former tutor, Duhan, who now filled the 
office of a city councillor, was banished to Memel. The 
consternation which these acts excited became general, 
and every heart was filled ^vith anxiety for the future 
fate of the prince royal. 



^g FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

Frederick had in the meantime arrived at Mittenwalde. 
He here underwent his first examination, on the 2d of 
September. The testimony given by Katte was laid be- 
fore him, and he admitted its accuracy. To all further 
questions his answers were not over-explicit. In reply to 
General Grumbkow, w^ho was present, and strove to damp 
his haughty self-reliance, he remarked, " that he hoped 
he was now indifferent to all that might befall him, and 
trusted his courage would exceed his misfortunes." 
Grumbkow thereupon informed him that he was, by order 
of the king, to be removed to Ciistrin, and that this fortress 
was to be his place of detention for the present. " Be it 
so," replied the prince ; " I shall go thither. And if I am 
not to leave it until I make the request, I shall probably 
remain there some time." 

The prince royal was on the following day conveyed to 
Ciistrin. An apartment was allotted hnn in the palace, 
the president of the chamber, De Munchow, having been 
obliged to give up one of his own rooms for the purpose. 
He was here, at the special command of the king, treated 
with great severity. His dress consisted of a coarse blue 
coat, without the star. Two wooden stools formed the 
furniture of his chamber. His food, w^hich was very 
simple, was brought to him cut in small pieces, as neither 
knives nor forks were allowed to such prisoners as were 
confined in close arrest. The use of ink and paper w^ere 
forbidden : his flute was. likewise taken from him. He 
dare on no account leave his chamber. The door was 
guarded by sentinels, and opened but three times daily to 
admit food, and then in presence of two officers, and for 
but a v^ery short time. These officers inspected tae cham- 
ber daily, in order to see that no contrivances for escape 
were in preparation. As all conversation with the prince 
royal was strictly interdicted, no visitors were admitted. 
Means, Avere found, notwithstanding, to evade the 
severity of these regulations. The president of the cham- 
ber, De Munchow, who felt the liveliest sympathy in the 
sufferings of the prince, contrived to make an aperture iu 



THE TRIAL. 4J) 

the ceiling of Frederick's chamber, through which he 
could communicate with him, offer him his services, and 
learn his wishes. Frederick complained of the wretched 
quality of the provisions, the mode in which they were 
served up, and the entire absence of all food for the mind. 
The president succeeded in supplying several of these 
wants. His youngest son, then eight years of age, was 
equipped in a wide, loose dress, worn by children, which 
he had years before laid aside ; and then, Avith his pockets 
filled with fruit and dainties of all kinds, he passed the 
guards, who could not refuse a child admission. A com- 
mode with secret drawers was subsequently introduced, 
and in tliis way the prince soon obtained knives, forks, 
pens, ink, and paper, books, letters, and in short, every- 
thing. The ofl&cers on duty examined the room with no 
severer scrutiny than their orders demanded. 

Frederick felt, in the meantime, but little inclination to 
attribute the sad coi; sequences of his father's displeasure 
to any fault of his ow^ r: recognize the propriety of sub- 
mitting with humility to his parent's will. He preserved, 
on the contrary, the most sullen demeanor towards such 
persons as were sent at different times by his father to 
communicate with him; and, in particular, toward the 
deputation which arrived in the middle of September for 
the purpose of examining him a second time. General 
Grumbkow, who formed one of this deputation also, went 
so far as to threaten him, that unless he laid aside his 
:iaughty demeanor, ways and means would be found to 
humble his pride. "I know not," replied the prince, 
" what may be your intentions towards me ; but this I 
know, that you shall never induce me to cringe to you." 
The deputation laid the box of papers before him, with the 
question, whether he did not miss some of its original 
contents. The prince, perceiving that the most important 
documents were w anting, concluded they had been sup- 
pressed. He accordingly replied, that these were its en- 
tire contents. The deputation sought to exact an oath 
from him ^. to this fact; but this he declined, on the 



50 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

ground of his memory being, possibly, fallacious. The 
commissioners could not succeed in extracting any further 
admissions from him. Prospects of pardon were held out 
to him, in the event of his relinquishing his claims to 
the succession ; but to this he likemse refused to accede. 
The king even intended to put Katte on the rack, but was 
restrained from the execution of his design by the inter- 
ference of the family and friends of the latter, who filled 
high posts in the state. 

The only charges against the prince royal or Katte con- 
sisted, as we see, in the attempt at flight, and the admis- 
sions and avowals of the latter. The king held this to be 
sufficient to warrant him in enforcing a most severe law. 
A court-martial was summoned to decide on their offence 
in a strictly military point of view. Frederick, in partic- 
ular was to be tried as a common deserter, without refer- 
ence to his rank. On the 25th of October, 1730, this tribu- 
nal assembled iii Kopenick, and returned to Berlin on the 
1st of November. Notwithstanding the king's positive 
directions, the tribunal would pronounce no sentence as 
to the prince royal ; it declared itself incompetent to de- 
cide as to him. Katte, in consideration of his not having 
quitted his regiment, and the non-fulfilment of his evil 
designs, was ordered to be cashiered, and sentenced to hard 
labor for several years. But the king, highly displeased 
at the entire conduct of the court-martial, attributed its 
acts solely to the v/ish to ingratiate itself with the future 
monarch, whom he had now brought himself to regard as 
his natural enemy. His wrath was not to be appeased but 
by the blood of some victim. He accordingly declared, by 
virtue of his royal prerogative, Katte's crime to be treason, 
inasmuch as the latter, as an ofiicer of the Guard-gens- 
d'armerie, was by oath especially attached to the person 
of the monarch, and had, notwithstanding, formed illegal 
connections with the ministers and ambassadors of foreign 
powers, for the purpose of aiding the desertion of the 
prince royal ; this being to the injury of the king. For 
this crime he deserved, as the king thought, to be branded. 



THE TRIAL. 51 

with burning irons, and then hung ; but in consideration 
of his family, he should only be decapitated. On the 
promulgation of this sentence, Katte was to be informed, 
that it gave the king pain, but that it was better that he 
should die, than that justice should remain unexecuted. 
All supplications and intercessions proved of no avail. It 
was in vain that Katte's grandfather, the distinguished 
General Field-marshal Count Wartensleben, with tears in 
his eyes supplicated the monarch to spare the life of his 
grandchild, and afford him an opportunity for repentance. 
The king remained obdurate and unmoved, repeatedly 
appealing to the maxim, that it was better that one guilty 
man should suffer by the hands of justice, than that the 
kmgdom or the world should perish. 

Katte received his sentence with the greatest compos- 
ure. In proportion as his former conduct had been frivol- 
ous, was his present bearing, during the few days granted 
him to prepare for death, becoming and grave. The sor- 
rows which he had by his misconduct drawn down upon 
the heads of his parents and grandfather touched his heart 
to the quick : the letters in which he bade them farewell 
were filled with expressions of the most tender contrition. 
In a humble spirit he acknowledged that he had been 
plunged into all his misfortunes from his neglect of the 
Most High ; but that even in this he recognized the love 
of his Heavenly Father, who had selected this means of 
conducting him to the paths of light. On the 4th of Nov- 
ember he was led away to Custrin. This was done by 
command of the king, who wished to leave no means un- 
tried for subduing the heart of his son. The execution 
was to take place, in obedience to the express injunctions 
of the king, under the very eyes of the prince. The morn- 
ing of the sixth of November was the day appointed. The 
prince Avas compelled to approach the window of his 
chamber, and on his seeing his friend in the centre of the 
awful procession, attended on either side by a clergyman, 
he called out from above : " Forgive me, dearest Katte ! " 
"Death for a prince so beloved is sweet ! " was the reply. 



52 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

The procession then ascended the ramparts, and Katte, 
strengthened by the consolations of religion, received the 
fatal blow. Human nature could not sustain this shock ; 
the prince royal was seized with fainting-fits. His very 
heart-strings seemed about to sna^) asunder. 

Still the same sword which had fallen upon Katte hung 
suspended over Frederick. The continual threats of the 
king warranted the worst apprehensions. But in propor- 
tion as the excitement increased, which Frederick's im- 
prisonment had everywhere throughout Europe aw^akened, 
the more repeated and urgent became the intercessions on 
his behalf. The king had already, in September, sent a 
circular to the different foreign courts, informing them, in 
general terms, of what had occurred, and signifying his 
intention of transmitting a more detailed account when 
the inquiry should have terminated. Thereupon there ap- 
peared various remonstrances from different courts, recom- 
mending lenity to the monarch. Austria, likewise, inter- 
fered, and with considerable earnestness, — now that the 
union between Prussia and England seemed completely 
dissolved, and little to be apprehended from the prince 
royal, — in the hope of attaching through its mediation the 
son as well as the father to its interests. Of still more 
weight with the king were the remonstrances of the most 
distinguished leaders of his army against so bloody a sen- 
t:^nce. In reply to the objection that the king had not the 
•^ TvYcr of inflicting the punishment of death upon an 
Electoral Prince of Brandenburg," without a formal trial 

.ore the emperor and empire, the monarch declared that 
neither emperor nor empire should prevent him from 
punishing the " Prince Royal of Prussia," within his own 
realms, according to his own good pleasure. On hearing 
this, Slajor De Buddenbrock bared his breast in the king's 
presence, and heroically exclaimed : " If your majesty 
wants blood, then take mine ; his you never shall have 
whilst I breathe!" 

But ii tae voice of policy could not be wholly disre- 
garded, — if the voice of honor still retained some hold of 



THE TRIAL. 53 

a soldier-monarch's heart — there was yet another voice, 
which had a much larger share than the two former in 
causing the king to relent. This voice proceeded from 
one of humble rank, but it conveyed the ardently-desired 
intelligence of his son's change of heart. Mliller, the 
clergyman, who had prepared Katte for death, had been 
specially commissioned by the king to w^ork upon the 
mind of Frederick, and, provided the latter seemed i^ 
clined to receive his religious instructions, to pass so' 
time with him. The prince was, after the late blow, Lu 
too much in need of spiritual consolation. Mliller was the 
bearer of a dear bequest from Katte ; a series of written 
representations, in which the writer sought to guide his 
royal friend to the same pious feelings that had formed 
his own consolation in the hour of death. These repre- 
sentations consisted chiefly in the expression of Katte's 
belief, that his misfortunes were but the well-merited ret- 
ribution of Heaven, and entreating the prince also to rec- 
ognize the hand of God, and submit to his father's will ; 
but, in particular, to renounce his belief in Fatalism. 
This last was the most important point, and the one to 
which the king wished the preacher to direct his particular 
exertions. For the prince, principally through Katte's 
instrumentality, had embraced the doctrine of Predestina- 
tion, so rigidly enforced by the Calvinists ; according to 
whom, each individual member of society was fore-doomed 
from eternity to weal or woe, and, therefore, sins involv ' 
no badness of the human heart. Frederick had in 1 
way regarded all his former acts as the decrees of 1 
over which he had no control. But his mind was ] 
open to warmer impressions, and although he for a 1 
strenuously combated the opinions of his adversary, t.. 
biblical lore of the latter eventually prevailed. He felt 
himself overpowered, and complained that his faculties 
were forsaking him. Summoning his energies at length, 
his first exclamation was : " I have, then, been the cause 
not alone of my own misfortunes, but of the death of 
my friend ! " The minister confirmed this assertion ; but^ 



54 :trederick the great. 

after allowing him for an instant to dwell upon the mag- 
nitude of his faults, directed his attention to the mercy of 
God, as being greater than all crimes. The prince then 
remarked, that though he might even succeed in obtain- 
ing the divine forgiveness, yet, so offensive had been his 
conduct towards the king, that he despaired of ever ob- 
taining his father's pardon, and that the preacher had only 
been sent to him with the view of preparing him also for 
death. It was very difficult to remove these suspicions ; 
and the prince was only restored to composure by a heart- 
felt prayer, which the j)reacher joined him in offering up. 
Frederick besought the latter to spend as much of his 
time with him as possible. Miiller, thereupon, occupied a 
room near the prince's, from whence he was often sum- 
moned at an early hour in the morning to assist Frederick 
in his devotions. Frederick had on one occasion been 
presented with a religious work by his spiritual adviser ; 
on the latter receiving it back, he found upon the cover 
the figure of a man, in a kneeling posture, with two swords 
crossed over his head, and underneath the words, " Lord, 
if I have but thee, I ask not after heaven nor earth ; if my 
body and soul be afflicted, thou art still, O God, at all 
times the consolation of my heart and my portion." 

The divine had been in the habit of transmitting to the 
king, from the time of Katte's execution, a daily return 
of the progress of the prince's conversion, and had sug- 
gested the danger of the monarch's withholding his 
clemency much longer, as there seemed grounds for 
apprehending that the continued melancholy under which 
the prince labored might affect his reason. The king lent 
a willing ear to the minister's suggestions. The latter 
was accordingly, on the 10th of November, authorized to 
communicate to the prince, that, " though the king could 
not grant him his entire forgiveness, still, he should be 
liberated from arrest, and only confined Avithin the walls 
of the fortress, and should be employed as a counsellor 
in the CUstrin chamber." This proof of the monarch's 
lenity so completely surprised Frederick, that be could 



THE TRIAL. 55 

not credit the announcement nor restrain his tears ; noth- 
ing less than a perusal of the letter itself could assure him 
of its truth. The king at the same time stipulated that 
Frederick should, in the presence of a deputation specially 
appointed for the purpose, take a solemn oath to render, 
in future, to the commands of the king the most implicit 
obedience ; and likewise took care that the attention of 
the prince should be particularly directed to the awful 
nature of an oath, and the risk he ran, in the event of his 
breaking it of being excluded from the succession, and of 
placing even his life m jeopardy. The jDrince declared 
his readiness to take the oath, but besought the king to 
submit it to him beforehand, to enable him to consider it 
the more fully, and give utterance to it with a purer con- 
viction. The monarch acceded to his request. Whilst 
preparations were being made for the reception of the 
prince into the chamber, and until his future residence 
was in a state to receive him, he continued in prison, and 
pursued his religious meditations, aided by Mliller. At 
length, on the 17th of ISTovember, the deputation, named 
by the king, arrived at Clistrin. After the oath had been 
duly administered, Frederick received back his sword 
and order, and then proceeded to the church, where he 
partook of the sacraments. The court-preacher, in 
allusion to the fortunes of his noble auditor, selected as 
the text of his discourse the words of the psalm : " I must 
suffer; the right hand of God can change everything." 
Frederick then wrote a second letter to the king, declar- 
ing his entire submission, and once more soliciting for- 
giveness, and conveying the assurance that the acknowl- 
edgment of his errors arose not from the restraints 
which had been imposed, but from a sincere change of 
heart. The king had, however, but pardoned the son, 
not the lieutenant- colonel, nor was Frederick, as yet, 
granted permission to wear a uniform, his attire consist- 
ing of a simple light gray suit, with narrow silver facings : 
he therefore made a request to the king, through Mliller, 
who had returned to Berlin, for permission, now that he 



56 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

had received back his sword, to wear a porte d'epee. On 
the request being signified to the monarch, the latter 
burst out into the joyous exclamation : " Is Frederick, 
then, after all, a soldier? well, that's good, at all 
events ! " 



THE RECONCILIATION. 47 



CHAPTER Vni. 

THE RECO]S^CILIATIO]?f. 

As soon as it became generally known that a reconcili- 
ation had taken place between the father and son, the joy 
with which the announcement was received became per- 
fectly universal. The serious apprehensions for the fate 
of the prince, which had been so long entertained, served 
but to endear Frederick still more to the hearts of the 
people. The Austrian party had not been, however, 
remiss in representing the pardon as solely attributable 
to the exertions of the Austrian court. Seckendorff had 
even, without much difficulty, succeeded in inducing the 
king to state distinctly, in his answer to the mediative 
letter of the emperor, that the prince Avas solely indebted 
to the latter for his pardon, and expressing the hope that 
Frederick would ever feel grateful for the kind interces- 
sion of his imperial majesty. Frederick was likewise 
compelled to give utterance to the same feelings in a 
letter to the emperor. The oath and the employment at 
Custrin had been both suggested by Seckendorff ; but, in 
a public circular which the king addressed to the several 
courts on the occasion, he ascribes his forgiveness to royal 
clemency and paternal lenity alone. 

Frederick was provided at Ciistrin with a separate house, 
a small retinue of servants, and a very limited income. 
The utmost economy was necessary in the management 
of the latter, and returns of the expenditure were regu- 
larly made out. 

In the sessions of the chamber, to which he wa« on tht 



58 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

21st of November first introduced, and on his entrance 
congratulated by the members of the council, the prince 
took part as a junior war and domain councillor, but with- 
out the privilege of voting. He received theoretical in- 
struction in the various departments of finance and police, 
and also in agriculture and the management of the royal 
domains. In other respects his position was subject to 
many restrictions ; he dare not leave the city ; and books, 
particularly French works, and music were still inter- 
dicted. 

President De MUnchow strove hard, notwithstanding, 
to render the confinement at Ciistrin as agreeable to the 
prince as possible ; nor were there wanting some pleasing 
social relations, Avhich soon restored the prince to his 
natural hilarity and repose. Thus an attachment between 
Frederick and a widowed sister of De MUnchow sprang 
up. As the latter was, towards the close of the year, 
about to pay a visit to her estates, Frederick, parodying 
his own fortunes, transmitted her a mimic cabinet order, 
protesting solemnly against her intended desertion, and 
testifying his high displeasure at so criminal a project. 
The ban regarding French books had been evaded, as we 
have seen, even Avithin the walls of his narrow prison. 
The restrictions as to music had been still less regarded, 
for we find that Frederick was permitted to solicit from 
Major-general De Schwerin the assistance of Frieders- 
dorff, a distinguished performer on the flute, to aid him 
in his musical performances. He had become acquainted 
with the latter several years previously, on his visiting 
Frankfort, where he had been honored by the students 
with a serenade, during which Friedersdorfif's performance 
on the flute attracted his attention. Frederick appointed 
him, afterwards, his private chamberlain ; and Frieders- 
dorff enjoyed his esteem to the close of his life. 

The prince had flattered himself with the hope that his 
unconditional and sincere submission to his father's will 
could not fail of regaining him the love of his parent; 
but the mind of the king was by no means free from sus- 



THE RECONCILIATION. 59 

picions, and the monarch feared that this compulsory sub- 
mission was only the offspring of dissimulation, and that 
the heart of his son was incapable of love. As the winter 
had now gone by without Frederick receiving any one 
mark of the king's sympathy or regard, though he had 
mastered the various branches of instruction with a degree 
of talent and ability which filled his instructors with sur- 
prise ; and as the sphere of his exertions remained as 
circumscribed as ever, a new storm of ill-feeling, arising 
from disappointment, threatened to burst forth. He had 
already reflected on the means of liberating himself — but 
not without the knowledge and consent of the king — from 
his irksome position. Conceiving the English project of 
alliance to be the mainspring of the king's distrust, he 
announced, in a confidential communication addressed to 
Grumbkow, his total abandonment of that scheme, and 
his readiness to form an alliance with the emperor's 
daughter, if such, as was said, were the wish of his father. 
He took much pains to prove how easy such a plan was 
of accomplishment, provided he were not compelled to 
change his religion, and declared his readiness to submit 
to the condition of renouncing the succession to the Prus- 
sian throne in favor of his younger brother, since the 
Austrian possessions, in default of heirs male, must pass 
to the daughter of the emperor. Grumbkow, conceiving 
this to be nothing but a stratagem in order to sound the 
father's sentiments, explained the entire impracticability 
of the scheme, and here the matter rested. 

Grumbkow became, however, seriously anxious to effect 
a real reconciliation between father and son, with a view 
to promote the interests of Austria. The first proof of 
the father's favor was a present of religious books, accom- 
panied by a letter of exhortation. This occurred in May ; 
but several months elapsed ere the king could prevail 
upon himself to submit to an interview with Frederick. 
At length, on the 15th of August, 1731, he happened, 
during a tour, to visit Ciistrian. He stopped at the 
Government-House, and ordered Frederick to be sum.- 



the 

seen / 
sing / 



in 



60 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

nioned to his presence. His son's exterior had undergone 
such a complete change within the past year, that this 
alone was sufficient to predispose him in his favor : the 
French gaiety of his manner had disappeared, and been 
succeeded by a manly gravity. On the prince's seeing 
his father he threw himself at his feet. The king bade 
him arise, and once more recapitulated, hi an impressi\ 
manner, his different transgressions ; he then assured hi 
that nothing had given him such sincere pain, as tliu 
want of confidence which his child betrayed towards him, 
whose only aim in all he did was the advancement of 
Frederick's interests. The latter conducted himself dur- 
ing this interview with so much propriety, and answered 
the king's inquiries relative to the flight with so much 
sincerity and candor, that the king affectionately assured 
him of his forgiveness. As the monarch was about to 
depart, Frederick conducted him to his carriage, where- 
upon the king embraced him in presence of the crowd, 
remarking, that he now no longer doubted his sincerity, 
and that arrangements should be made for his happiness 
in future. Frederick testified the high delight he felt — a 
feeling in which he was heartily joined by the numbers 
who had crowded round the Government- House, in order 
to be spectators of this important interview. 

The immediate result of this reconciliation w^as the con- 
cession to Frederick of a greater measure of freedom than 
he had hitherto enjoyed, although it was far from the 
king's intention to liberate him at once from all control. 
On the contrary, the king wisely resolved that Frederick 
should derive as much solid information as possible from 
his sojourn in CUstrin. He Avas still obliged to attend 
the sessions of the Chamber, but received a seat next the 
president, together Avith the right of voting on all matters, 
and his signature was attached to all documents already 
signed by the president. He received orders likewise to 
visit the royal domains in the neighborhood of CUstrin, 
and learn practically what he had hitherto studied theo- 
retically. Provision was at the same time made for his 



THE RECONCILIATION. 61 

domestic comfort ; his wardrobe was increased, and a 
carriage placed at his disposal. 

Frederick devoted himself to his new duties with great 
zeal. During his visits to the different estates he took 
pains to gain information on all points connected with 
farming and husbandry; he forwarded an account of 
everything to the king, and exerted himself to discover 
plans for improving the revenues. He would propose, 
for instance, that one spot of land, which had been waste, 
should be tilled, that offices should be built on a second, 
or that premises which had fallen into decay should be 
repaired : such suggestions were always accompanied by 
an estimate of the pi'obable expenses, calculated by him- 
self. The king entered readily into these views, and by 
directing Frederick's attention to the relative advantages 
and disadvantages of such plans, stimulated him to fur- 
ther exertion. He had soon the satisfaction of receiving 
the most flattering accounts of Frederick's industry and 
information, from those to whose care he had committed 
him. Nor did Frederick neglect to consult the wishes of 
his father in matters of less moment. Although feeling 
no mclination for the chase, he sent in accounts of the 
state of the game in the different districts ; described such 
strange animals as he chanced to meet with ; and gave 
particulars of the number of boars he had killed, and the 
like. In his letters the allusions to military affairs were 
frequent, and, doubtless, not without a motive, for the 
highest token of the king's approbation was still withheld 
—a military uniform. However, Frederick's conduct be- 
came, by the advice of prudent friends, daily more and 
more in unison with the wishes of his father ; and in this 
latter respect Grumbkow's conduct was highly commend- 
able. 

In Berlin, too, the situation of the royal family had 
considerably improved, .and began to wear a more peace- 
ful aspect. The princess Wilhelmine had consented, not- 
withstanding that her mother had by no means relin- 
quished her project of the double alliance, to give her 



62 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

hand to the Prince of Baireuth — one of three suitors pro- 
posed by her father, Avho, although wholly unknown to 
her, had been selected by herself, from her aversion to 
the other two, whom she both knew and hated. Nor had 
she afterwards any reason to regret her choice. She was 
betrothed on the 1st of June, and the nuptials were cele- 
brated on the 20th of November following. It is worthy 
of remark, that both on the day of the betrothal and wed- 
ding an English courier arrived in Berlin, bringing the 
most flattering proposals for a union of the princess 
Wilhelmine with an English prince. As the courier 
arrived too late on both occasions, we may fairly suspect 
the sincerity of England. 

The king had made a promise to his daughter, as a re- 
ward for her submission to his will, that Frederick should 
be liberated from all restraint immediately after the 
solemnization of her nuptials. On the fourth day of the 
wedding festivities the king gave a grand ball in the state 
apartments of the palace: as a minuet was commenc- 
ing Frederick entered. Much changed in manner and 
appearance, — for he had grown taller and stouter — and 
attired in his simple gray suit, he remained some time un- 
noticed, standing amongst a crowd of royal servants near 
the door. No one, except the king, was aware of his 
admission, and a considerable time elapsed before he was 
recognized. At length the queen was informed of his 
presence by the mistress of the household: throwing 
down the cards she held in her hands, she rushed to meet 
him, and clasped him in her arms. The princess Wilhel- 
mme was completely overcome with joy on learning his 
presence from Grumbkow, with whom she happened to 
be dancing at the moment ; her eyes wandered long round 
the room before she could recognize him. After having 
cordially welcomed him, she threw herself at her father's 
feet, and testified her gratitude towards him in so affecting 
a manner, that he could not restrain his tears. The cold 
behavior of Frederick contrasted strongly with all this 



THE RECONCILIATION. 68 

warmth, so much so as to procure him a passing rebuke 
from his father. Frederick's motive in pursuing this line 
of conduct was, in part, a determination to avoid in future 
that appearance of caballing which had formerly given 
so much offence to his father ; but in truth, his thoughts 
were at present engrossed by more serious matters than 
pleasures or gaieties. The princess remarked this es- 
trangement with pain, but ere long the brother and sister 
were as ardently attached as ever. 

A fcAV days afterwards, all the superior officers quar- 
tered in Berlin, with the Prince of Dessau at their head, 
solicited the restoration of the prince to the military serv- 
ice. On the 30th of November he received the uniform 
of an infantry regiment, and was appointed its future 
commander. During the winter he was, however, obliged 
to resume his civilian dress, and return to his former 
duties at Clistrin. With increased ardor, and daily more 
and more to the satisfaction of his father, he discharged 
the various duties committed to him. His tours of inspec- 
tion became more extended, and he availed himself of the 
proximity of certain glass-works to increase his stock of 
knowledge. He applied himself with so much ability to 
this latter subject, as to effect a considerable improvement 
in the proceeds of the establishment. He drew up a plan 
for the management of the various w^orks of the kind 
throughout the kingdom; and the king, to whom every 
increase of revenue was a subject of high satisfaction, 
directed that all glass-works situated on royal domains 
should be conducted on the prince's plan. Military 
affairs likewise engrossed a considerable share of his at- 
tention ; from the king he solicited a copy of the military 
text-book, and exerted himself, by diligent study, to be- 
come an expert tactician. In January, 1732, he had a 
severe attack of fever ; and in February was, on his re- 
covery, summoned to Berlin to assume the command of 
the Goltz regiment, and the town of Ruppin allotted him 
as his headquarters. As Frederick was paying his fare- 



64 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

well visit in Ciistrin, to the President de Mlinchow, the 
latter inquired, what they, who had acted unkindly to- 
wards him during his melancholy differences with his 
father, had, one day, to expect : " I will heap burning 
coals upon their heads," was his reply. 



MXBKIAaE. Q^ 



CHAPTER IX, 



MARRIAGE. 



Domestic peace was now fully re-established between 
the father and son ; yet neither neglected the necessary 
precautions to preclude the possibility of future disagree- 
ments. The king, seeing that nature had formed Fred- 
erick in quite a different mould from himself, was appre- 
hensive of the consequences of their living together, and 
this was the reason of his selecting Ruppin, a to\vn ten 
leagues distant from Berlin, for Frederick's residence, in 
preference to Berlin itself. Here Frederick, provided he 
discharged his military duties with zeal, was in other 
respects master of his own actions. The consequences of 
this prudent arrangement were, that the reciprocal con- 
fidence which existed between the father-and son daily in- 
creased and their trivial dift^erences, wholly unavoidable 
from the different temper of their minds and the irasci- 
bility of the king's disposition, were readily adjusted, 
without being attended with any serious consequences. 

The son's complete submission to his fatlier's will had 
now to undergo one of the severest tests. In order to do 
away with the most important source of dissension, the 
father had resolved on Frederick's marrying. The pre- 
liminaries had been adjusted during the residence of the 
latter at Ciistrin. The Austrian party, who still main- 
tained a complete ascendency over the king's mind, and 
were still opposing with all their might every remnant 
of English influence, proposed Elizabeth Christine, a 
princess of Brunswick-Bevern, niece of the empress, for 



66 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

the king's approval. Frederick William was the more 
inclined to this proposal from the circumstance of his en- 
tertaining a particular regard for the father of the prin- 
cess. The prince royal gave his consent, but in a spirit 
of desperation ; the princess having been described to him 
as ugly and without intellect : and he, in the first bloom 
of youth, devoted to all the pleasures of existence, feeling 
reluctant to submit to the restraints of a tie which was 
doubly opposed to his inclinations, looked round for some 
expedient to break off the negotiations. 

The princess Catharine of Mecklenburg, niece and 
adopted child of Anna, Empress of Russia, seemed more 
suited to his wishes. However, on his communicating 
his ideas on the subject, as this choice did not altogether 
suit the views of the Austrian party, their exertions in 
favor of the Princess of Brunswick were now redoubled, 
and the will of the King of Prussia unalterably resolved. 

As early as the month of March, 1732, during a \isit 
of Duke Francis Stephen of Lorraine, the emperor's future 
son-in-law, to the court of Berlin, the members of the 
Brunswick royal family were amongst others invited to 
meet him, and the betrothal of Frederick with the Prin- 
cess Elizabeth Christine took place. Frederick then 
found, to his great satisfaction, that he had been deceived 
in the accounts he had heard of his bride. So far from 
being ugly, her person was most prepossessing, and the 
extreme diffidence of manner, which gave her an air of 
simplicity, Frederick conceived would in time wear off. 
He was, notv/ithstanding, too prudent to avow this change 
in his sentiments, in order that his father might estimate 
the more highly the sacrifice he made. Austria exerted 
herself to the utmost to render the princess a worthy 
object of Frederick's affections. Care was even taken to 
engage an eminent dancing- master for her, in consequence 
of a remark on her dancing made by Frederick, who him- 
self excelled, and was passionately devoted to this amuse- 
ment. The solemnization of the marriage was fixed for 
the f oUoAving year 3 the Austrian court strove to expedite 



MARRIAGE. 67 

matters as much as possible, from a fear of losing the 
advantages already gained, in case of the khig's death, 
an event which, from his dehcate health, seemed not 
hnprobable. 

On the conclusion of the festivities the prince returned 
to Ruppin. The tranquillity which he here enjoyed was 
balm to his soul. Unremitting were his exertions for the 
efficient discipline of his regiment, and the procuring of 
the tallest and finest recruits, to render it as imposing in 
the eyes of the king as possible ; and although he by no 
means neglected the civil duties which his father had 
likewise entrusted to him, yet his hours of recreation 
were not few, and these he devoted to the acquisition of 
knowledge, to reading and music, lie could now apply 
himself more seriously than hitherto to the sound scien- 
tific culture of his mind. All the great heroes of by-gone 
ages, whose deeds were reflected in the mirror of history, 
arose before him, challenging him, as it were, to an im- 
itation of their glorious exploits. Even the soil in the 
immediate vicinity of Ruppin was classic ground. At 
Fehrbellin the prince royal's ancestor, the great elector, 
had, half a century before, routed the hosts of Sweden, 
and restored freedom to his country. Frederick visited 
the field of battle, inquiring all the particulars of this 
glorious deed ; foreseeing, perhaps, that the future might 
render such a study desirable. An old citizen of Ruppin, 
who had been present at the engagement in his youth, 
acted as his guide. Having completed the tour of inspec- 
tion, Frederick asked the guide whether he could not in- 
form him as to what had been the cause of the war. The 
old man frankly stated that the great elector and the 
Swedish monarch had in their youth studied together in 
Utrecht, that they could not agree, and had settled their 
differences on the plains of Fehrbellin. Little did the 
old man know that a similar ill-feeling between the prince 
royal's father and the English monarch had almost led to 
a similar catastrophe, and had exerted considerable influ- 
ence on the destinies of Frederick. 



eS FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

But the age in which he lived was likewise destined to 
afford him a glorious example, and one the more calcu- 
lated to make a deep impression, as it was his OAvn father 
who challenged his admiration. It was in 1732 that Fred- 
erick William offered his royal protection to the inhab- 
itants of Salzburg, who had been the victims of religious 
persecution, and promised them a home and protection 
within his states. 

Taking advantage of this offer, upwards of twenty 
thousand of these emigrants settled on the friendly soil, 
where, in the provinces of Prussia and Lithuania, large 
and fertile tracts of land, which had been depopulated by 
the plague, were assigned them. Many had left their 
goods and chattels behind them, and this excited the 
charitable inhabitants of the districts through wiiich thej^ 
passed to be more zealous in their endeavors to relieve 
their distresses. The exam^Dle which the king had set 
was not lost upon the meanest of his subjects. Fred- 
erick's feelings are sufficiently depicted in the letters 
written by him about this period. " My heart impels me " 
(he thus addresses Grumbkow from Ruppin) " to become 
acquainted with the sad lot of these unhappy exiles. 
The resolution with which they endure all their priva- 
tions rather than relinquish the only creed which instructs 
us in the doctrines of our Saviour, cannot be, in my 
opinion, sufficiently rewarded. I would part with my 
very shirt to divide it with these unhappy beings." And 
again, "I assure you," (he says in another letter,) "when 
I think of the miseries of these emigrants my heart is 
ready to burst. Procure me, I beseech you, the means of 
assisting them : I will give as much as I can possibly 
spare from my small means with all my heart." We 
have no proofs of how much the prince in reality did for 
these unhappy creatures ; but we have so many instances 
of his generosity upon record, that there can be little 
doubt that these expressions of commiseration were 
accompanied by solid acts of kindness. 

In one of the above passages from his letters Frederick 



MARRIAGE. 69 

solicits Grumbkow, who had insinuated himself into his 
confidence, to procure him pecuniary aid, of which he stood 
but too much in need. The income allowed him by the 
king was exceedingly limited ; and in spite of all the ex- 
ertions of his father, he had not as yet learned economy 
in his household arrangements ; from the numerous ex- 
penses which, from different causes, he wiis obliged to 
incur, the amount of his debts again became very co:i- 
siderable. The gigantic recruits, now absolutely nece:-.- 
sary for his regiment, could only be procured at a gvcit 
expense. His sister, married to the hereditary Prince of 
Baireuth, was likewise in a very uncomfortable ]30sitlon ; 
she could not obtain a sufficient provision either from her 
father-in-law in Baireuth or her father in Berlin. His 
old tutor, Duhan, was likcAvise in distress in his place of 
exile : both sister and tutor were tenderly loved by Fred- 
erick, who, regarding himself as the cause of the dis- 
pleasure with which they had been visited by the king, 
gladly shared all he had with them. This state of things 
exactly suited the wishes of the Austrian court, as afford- 
ing an opportunity of attaching him, who was one day to 
sway the destinies of Prussia, more firmly to their in- 
terests than they had been hitherto successful in affecting. 
They made him considerable advances, which soon as- 
sumed the shape of a regular annuity ; the Princess of 
Baireuth was provided for in the same way, as her influ- 
ence over Frederick was Avell known ; Duhan \vas also 
provided with a trifling situation in Wolfenbiittel, and 
had a small pension likewise secured to him. These ar- 
rangements were affected with the greatest privacy, in 
order to evade the observation of the king. Frederick 
could see through the conduct of the Austrian court 
clearly enough ; but accepted, notwithstanding, that 
which his necessities imperiously demanded. That the 
conduct of Austria was anything but disinterested or 
deserving of gratitude, became but too soon apparent. 

The principal aim which the whole policy of Charles 
the Sixth, Emperor of Germany, had in view, was the 



70 FREDEEICK THE GREAT. 

ratification of the Pragmatic Sanction, securing the suc- 
cession to his daughter. The aUiance with Prussia had 
been entered into because Frederick William had prom- 
ised his adhesion to the Sanction ; the feeling towards 
England w^as hostile, because opposition was apprehended 
from her. These relations became altered when England 
acceded to the Sanction. Every effort was now made to 
win the English court, and Prussia was to be made the 
tool. The King of England still wished to have one of 
his daughters future Queen of Prussia ; this wish was 
hardly expressed, when the whole tactics of the Austrian 
party became reversed, and the same zeal and energy 
which had been formerly displayed in bringing about 
Frederick's marriage with the Princess of Baireuth was 
now directed to forward the views of England. Other 
objects were not lost sight of ; the Princess Elizabeth 
Christine, a niece of the emperor, was to be united with 
an English prince. This diplomatic zeal was pushed to 
such a length, that on the very eve of Frederick's mar- 
riage the most urgent representations were made to the 
king. For once, however, the arts of Austrian dijDlomacy 
were foiled by the German honesty of Frederick William, 
their only result being to make the king suspect the aims 
of England, and awaken even some doubts as to the real 
sincerity of Austria. Even Frederick testified little ap- 
probation of the new scheme, attributing, as he did, the 
union of his favorite sister with the Prince of Baireuth 
mainly to the misconduct of England. 

The marriage of the prince royal with the Princess 
Elizabeth Christine was solemnized without opposition 
on the 12th of June, 1733. The Prussian court went for 
this purpose to Salzdahlum, one of the palaces of the 
Duke of Brunswick Wolfenbiittel, wiio,- as the grand- 
father of the princess, provided the wedding entertain- 
ments. The marriage service was read by the celebrated 
Mosheim. The festivities were arranged on an unusual 
scale of splendor, but gaiety of heart was wanting. The 
Queen of Prussia was now in desperation, seeing all her 



MARRIAGE. 71 

plans had been baffled : the bride submitted to the dictates 
of her relatives, her natural reserve being still further 
augmented by the formal pageantry. Frederick, though 
no longer entertaining the same aversion to her, found it 
advisable to continue to play his game before the eyes 
of the world ; and the king appeared moody, in conse- 
quence of the conduct of his son ; whilst the Anglo- 
Austrian propositions were exactly calculated to complete 
the general gloom. Some days afterwards the various 
members of the royal families of Prussia and Brunswick 
returned to Berlin, where they attended various grand 
]nilitary displays, and then made a solemn entry into the 
city in procession. The festivities were then resumed, 
and closed with the celebration of the marriage of the 
Princess Philippine Charlotte, a younger sister of Fred- 
erick, with the hereditary Prince of Brunswick. 

The present royal palace (then the Government House) 
was given up to Frederick during his residence in Berlin ; 
and in order to render his sojourn in Ruppin with his 
regiment as agreeable as possible, the king purchased 
for him the Rheinsberg palace, situated about two miles 
from thence : expending a considerable sum of money in 
repairing and putting it in order, and thereby gratifying 
one of Frederick's favorite wishes. 



72 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 



CHAPTER X. 

FIRST SIGHT OF ACTUAL WARFARE. 

Frederick's knowledge of warfare had been hitherto 
purely theoretical ; he was destined, however, soon to see 
the stern realities of actual strife. 

The war, in which Prussia now took part, was occa- 
sioned by a contest for the possession of Poland. King 
Augustus II. had died on the 1st of February, 1738. He 
had, in contravention of the constitution of Poland, which 
recognized not an hereditary but an elective monarchy, 
sought to render the crown an heirloom in his family. 
His efforts had been, certainly, unsuccessful ; but his son, 
afterwards known as Augustus III. who had succeeded 
him as Prince Elector of Saxony, came forward as a 
claimant for the throne of his father, and his pretensions 
received the most energetic support from the courts of 
Russia and Austria. His claims were contested by Stan- 
islaus Lesczynsky, father-in-law to Louis XY., King of 
France. Stanislaus had, some years previously, been 
decked with the Polish crown, on the occasion of Augustus 
II. being obliged to yield to the power of Charles XII. of 
Sweden, and his pretensions were supported by his son- 
in-law. Poland itself was split into factions ; once a mighty 
realm, it had long ceased to be capable of enjoying freedom 
and independence, and had been long swayed by foreign 
powers. Augustus III. triumplied through the military 
power of his allies, whilst Stanislaus could obtain from 
France nothing beyond empty promises. But the occasion 
seemed to France to be favorable for declaring war 



FIRST SIGHT OF ACTUAL WARFARE. 73 

against Austria for this infraction of the Polish freedom 
of election, in order to have an opportunity of once more 
extending its dominions at the expense of some portion 
of the Germanic empire — this had been the policy of France 
for more than a century. The formal declaration of war 
took place in October, 1733. 

Frederick William had some time previously joined 
Austria and Russia in their plans respecting Poland, in 
consideration of Berg being, with other advantages, 
secured to him. On perceiving, however, that no decisive 
arrangement was to be expected, he had abstained from 
interfering further in the affairs of Poland ; but on the 
declaration of war by France, he offered the emperor the 
aid of forty thousand troops, on condition of his demands 
being complied with. He again received nothing but 
evasive replies, and consequently sent but ten thousand 
men, that being the contingent, which, according to a 
former treaty, he was bound to supply as a subsidy to the 
emperor. This corps joined the imperial army in the 
spring of 1734. The combined forces were under the com- 
mand of Prince Eugene, of Savoy, who had grown gray 
in the service of Austria, and had reaped so many laurels 
in .former contests. The King of Prussia was glad at 
thus having an opportunity of initiating Frederick in the 
arts of war, under the guidance of so renoAvned a tactician ; 
the prince royal was accordingly attached to the Prussian 
regiment as a volunteer. The king also set out shortly 
afterwards for the camp. 

The French army, which had advanced with rapidity 
upon Germany, were besieging the Imperial fortress of 
Philippsburg on the Rhine. Eugene's army advanced to 
the relief of the fortress : the headquarters of the latter 
were at Wiesenthal, a village almost within gun- range of 
the French lines. Frederick arrived here on the 7th of 
July. Immediately after his arrival he sought out Prince 
Eugene, in order to obtain a view of this aged warrior, 
then the most brilliant star in the horizon of German 
fame, and still living in the national poetry of the (^erman 



74 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

people. Frederick asked to be allowed " to see how a hero 
gathers laurels." Eugene repaid this courtesy in kind : 
he lamented that it had not been his good fortune to have 
made the acquaintance of the prince at an earlier period, 
as he might, in that case, have been able to have given 
him an insight into things possibly of advantage to a 
commander : " For," said he, with the look of a connois- 
seur, " everything about you tells me that you will one 
day become a valiant leader." 

Eugene invited the prince to dinner. Whilst at table 
the French commenced a furious cannonade ; but this 
was unheeded, and the conversation continued in unbroken 
gaiety. Frederick was delighted, on proposing a toast, to 
hear it responded to by the roar of the enemy's guns. 

Eugene took a lively interest in the youthful iDrince ; 
the spirit, sagacity, and manly bearing of the latter won 
upon him. Two days after Frederick's arrival he paid 
him a visit, in company with the Duke of Wurtemburg. 
Frederick, who had known the latter previously, embraced 
ahd kissed him. Eugene turning quickly towards him, 
said : " Will not your Royal Highness kiss my old cheeks 
too?" Heartily did Frederick comply with this request. 

Prince Eugene testified his attachment to Frederick by 
presenting him with four picked recruits. Frederick was 
summoned to every council of Avar ; and strove to prove 
himself worthy of this consideration, by a zealous discharge 
of his military duties, and an active participation in 
military toils. He shared the fatigues of the camp, and 
attentively studied the mode of treatment of the men. 
He also rode daily along the lines, during the whole period 
of the siege, and was always present when anything of 
importance was going forward. 

Of his undaunted courage he now gave a striking proof. 
He had, on one occasion, ridden out, attended by a pretty 
numerous staff, to inspect the lines of Philippsburg. On 
his emerging from a thinly planted grove, he became so 
exposed to the enemy's fire, that several trees on either 
side of him were shattered to pieces ; he still maintained 



FIRST SIGHT OF ACTUAL WARFARE. ^5 

his quiet pace and even the hand in which he held the 
bridle betrayed not the slightest nervousness. It was 
likewise observed, that he continued in unbroken conversa- 
tion with the general who rode beside him ; and his whole 
bearing, in the midst of dangers to which he was wholly 
unaccustomed, excited universal admiration and aston- 
ishment. 

The most flattering testimony to Frederick's good 
conduct was afterwards borne by Prince Eugene, on the 
arrival of the father in the camp, coupled with the as- 
surance, that the prince would become one of the most 
distinguished warriors of his day. This praise, from the 
lips of so renowned a hero, afforded the king the highest 
delight : he declared his satisfaction to be the greater, as 
he had always doubted Frederick's entertaining any in- 
clination for military renown. He began from thence- 
forward to regard him with more favorable eyes. 

The deep impression which the appearance of the ven- 
erable hero of Savoy had made upon Frederick, is attested 
by a poem which he composed during his stay in the 
camp, and which is one of the earliest of his metrical pro- 
ductions that have been preserved. And although he 
here gives utterance to his emotions in that rhetorical 
style which characterized all the French poetry of the 
period, yet, as evidence of his feelings, it is a singular 
document. It is an ode addressed to Fame, as the parent 
of everything great, achieved by the sword or the pen. 
He adduces historical examples, and after recounting the 
glorious exploits of Prince Eugene, concludes with an 
allusion to his own future career. The important con- 
cluding strophe might be rendered, (the original poem, 
like all Frederick's writings, is in French,) perhaps thus : 

** O Fame, for whom I now resign 
Pleasure's guilty glittering crown ; 
O Fame, I'm now entirely thine ! 
Then lend my life its fair renown ! 
And though Death's terrors me await, 
Thou canst at least perpetuate 



76 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

The spirit that now lives in me ; 
Ope with thy hand thy portals wide, 
Me on thy patli direct and guide — 

For thee I live— I'll die for thee." 

• 

A second poem, written about the same period, is of 
less importance: in it Frederick seeks to depict the 
horrors of war, and avers his having maintained his sen- 
sibility unimpaired in the midst of them. 

This campaign was, notwithstanding, but little calcu- 
lated to shed the glory which Frederick coveted, upon 
those engaged in it. The Austrian troops were badly 
disciplined, and afforded a striking contrast to the ad- 
mirable condition of the Prussians, inferior as the latter 
were in numbers. Frederick was himself, on his return 
home, completely disgusted at the vauntings and unmartial 
bearing of the Austrians — a circumstance which influ- 
enced, beyond a doubt, his subsequent line of policy 
towards Austria. Eugene had lost the fire of youth, and 
did not care to hazard his well-won laurels. To this is 
attributable the fact, that instead of taking advantage, by 
some decisive movement, of the disadvantageous position 
of the French, the allies looked calmly on, whilst the 
French captured the fortress, on the eighteenth of July. 
With this event all hopes of valiant deeds vanished. 

During his sojourn in the camp, Frederick and some 
congenial spirits engaged themselves in making a singular 
experiment. It struck them, that sleep was a great cur- 
tailment of existence, the dispensing with wliich would 
give life double duration. The attempt was made, and 
their good intentions seconded by doses of strong coffee. 
Four days had been thus passed without sleep, when 
nature demanded its rights. Sleep came upon the innova- 
tors during their avocations ; and Frederick was on the 
point of falling ill, when the resolution of resting content 
with the ordinary period of existence was arrived at. 

Frederick William had left the army as early as the 
month of August, in disgust at the ill success attending 
its operations ; but did not reach Berlin until September, 



FIRST SIGHT OF ACTUAL WARFARE. YT 

having been attacked by a dangerous disease on the way 
thither. The prince was commissioned to conduct the 
Prussian troops to their winter- quarters : this he did 
with the more dispatch, in consequence of the illness of 
his father ; and October found him also at home. The 
king testified the confidence he reposed in him by author- 
izing him to attach his own signature to all papers, 
instead of the royal sign-manual. From his illness, 
dangerous as was its character, the king recovered in the 
spring, although the root of the evil was never completely 
eradicated. In June, 1735, the king marked his approba- 
tion of Frederick's conduct by promotmg him to the rank 
of Maj or-general. 

Austria, in the meantime, testified but little gratitude 
to the king of Prussia for his services. She, on the 
contrary, now made demands founded on the duties of 
the Prussian kingdom, as component part of the Ger- 
manic empire. She likewise required the surrender 
of the person of Stanislaus Lesczynski, who, on being 
defeated in his designs on Poland, had entered the 
Prussian territories, and there met with a hospitable recep- 
tion from Frederick William, by whom he was personally 
esteemed ; — a demand which, as it could not in honor be 
complied with, was refused by the king ; but Frederick 
William was equally deaf to the tempting overtures of 
France, made to win him over to the cause of Stanislaus, 
in reliance on the strong regard which the monarch per- 
sonally entertained for the latter. The Austrian court, 
conceiving they could now dispense with the Prussian 
monarch's aid, declined all further conference. Proposi- 
tions were made to France, assigning the dukedom of 
Lorraine to Stanislaus for life, and on his demise, to fall 
to France ; the Duke of Lorraine being, on the other hand, 
indemnified by receiving Toscana. This ignominious 
termination of the war was hailed by the Germanic em- 
pire with joy. The emperor had obtained, through this 
arrangement, France's recognition of the Pragmatic Sanc- 
tion. In this compact Prussia had been completely over- 



78 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

looked ; no notice had been given of the progress of the 
negotiations, much less any indemnity for the losses in- 
curred or the sacrifices made. Nay, the very laws of 
decorum were so far outraged, that the Prussian monarch 
received no notification of the marriage of the emperor's 
eldest daughter, Maria Theresa, with the Duke of Lor- 
raine, which took place in the year 1736. There was now 
no longer any reason for Frederick William's withholding 
his long-repressed indignation against Austria. He com- 
mented, in a tone of bitter irony, upon the conduct of the 
Austrian court ; and on one occasion, in prophetic antici- 
pation of the future greatness of his son, and his own 
increasing infirmities, pointing to Frederick, used the 
following words : " There stands one who will avenge 
me." 

In the beginning of 1739 Austria actually concluded a 
compact with France, by which Jiilick and Berg, the 
succession to which was claimed by Prussia and guar- 
anteed by former treaties, were made over to the then 
Prince of Sulzbach. Austria had assumed the initiative 
in this treatyj and its protection against Prussia was ex- 
pressly stipulated for by France. 



RESIDENCE IN RHEINSBERG. ^9 



CHAPTER XI. 

RESIDENCE IN RHEINSBERG. 

In the midst of the severe ilhiess by which the king 
was attacked at the close of the Rhine campaign of 1734, 
Frederick, with tears in his eyes, exclaimed, " Willingly 
would I give one of my arms that the king might live for 
twenty years to come, only provided he would allow me 
to live as jT wish myself." This sacrifice proved unneces- 
sary for the' attainment of a happy change in his circum- 
stances and mode of life. The king granted him thence- 
forth perfect freedom ; and there followed a succession of 
far happier days than he ever afterwards enjoyed, as his 
subsequent life was much more devoted to advancing 
the happiness of his subjects than his own. 

Rheinsberg, that delightful retreat near Ruppin, with 
which Frederick had been presented on his marriage, 
formed the centre of his joys. His domestic arrangements 
were here on a princely scale, but without any excess of 
splendor ; and he drew around him here the men whom 
he most highly prized. His feelings towards his princess 
were of the tenderest kind : her exterior had become 
delicately beautiful ; her timidity had expanded into the 
purest feminine mildness ; whilst her entire devotion to 
her husband excited the warmest reciprocal attachment ; 
but unhappily their union was not blessed with issue. 
Of Frederick's friends we may particularize the following : 
Baron Keyserling, a lively, agreeable man of the world, 
who had been assigned him as a companion in early days, 
by the king, and between whom and Frederick there 



80 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

existed the closest intimacy ; Knobelsclorflf, to whom Fred- 
erick had reason to be grateful for services rendered dur- 
ing his sojourn in Ciistrin, who had been at that time a 
captain in the army, but had since left the service, and 
devoted himself to the cultivation of his taste for archi- 
tecture, for which he displayed great talents ; Jordan, 
formerly a clergyman, but now devoted to belles-lettres, 
and remarkable for his conversational powers. Then 
followed a number of distinguished officers, young and 
old ; artists, among whom Pesne, the court-painter, was 
of some importance ; musicians, as, for instance, the well- 
known Graun, and many others who paid but passing 
visits to Rheinsburg ; while intercourse with distant friends 
was kept up by a lively correspondence. 

We find in the letters of a contemporary. Baron Biel- 
feld, who had been likewise received into the number of 
Frederick's friends, a very animated sketch of Rheinsberg, 
the beauty of the scenery, and the gaiety of the life there 
led. We cannot give his description better than in his 
own words: 

" The situation of the palace (Bielfeld writes thus in 
October, 1739,) is delightful. A large lake reaches almost 
to its very walls, beyond which a grove of oaks and beech 
rises in the form of an amphitheatre. The former palace 
consisted of the principal building and one wing, at the 
end of which stood a tower. This building and its 
situation were well calculated to give scope for a display of 
the prince royal's taste, and the talents of Knobelsdorff, 
w^ho is inspector of the building department. (The first 
plan of the alterations did not, however, emanate from 
him.) The main building was enlarged and improved with 
arched windows, statues, and all kinds of architectural 
embellishments. A second wing was erected at the other 
extremity of the building, and both were connected by 
means of a colonnade, with vases and groups of figures. 
This gave the whole the appearance of a quadrangle. It 
is entered by a bridge crowded with statues, which serve 
as supporters for lamps. The handsome portal leading 



RESIDENCE IN RHEINSBERG. 81 

into the courtyard bears the inscription, conceived by 
Knobelsdorflf : Friderico tranquillitateni colenti. The 
interior of the palace is splendid and tasteful. Sculpture 
richly, but not injudiciously, overlaid with gold, every- 
where meets the eye. As the prince has a dislike to gaudy 
colors, the furniture and tapestry are of a bright violet, 
sky-blue, bright-green, or fawn-color, edged with silver. 
The saloon which will form the chief ornament of the 
palace, is not yet completed ; it is to be wainscotted with 
marble, and furnished with mirrors and bronze. The cele- 
brated Pesne is engaged in preparing a centre-piece for the 
ceiling, representing the rising sun. On one side you see 
Night wrapped in a dense veil, and attended by the night- 
birds and the Hours. Night appears retiring to make 
way for the Dawn, at Avhose side the morning- star appears 
in the form of Venus. You see the white steeds of the 
chariot of the Sun, and Apollo shooting forth the first rays. 
I consider this picture as allegorical and typical of an 
event which may not now be far distant. The gardens in 
Rheinsberg have not yet attained maturity, as they have 
been laid out but two years since. The plan is grand, the 
execution will depend on circumstances. The principal 
walk terminates in an obelisk, in the Egyptian style, with 
hieroglyphics. Groups of trees, arbors and shady seats 
everywhere abound. Two pleasure-boats, built by order 
of the prince, float upon the lake, and bear the wanderer, 
who is fond of sailing, to the edge of the wood." 

The writer next proceeds to notice and describe the 
characters of the different persons composing the society 
of Rheinsberg, who, from the variety of their peculiar 
habits of mind, contributed to diversify and enliven social 
intercourse. He then proceeds : 

" All who reside within the palace enjoy the most un- 
constrained liberty. You see the prince royal and his 
consort only at meals, balls, concerts, or other recreations 
in which they take part. Every one thinks, reads, draws, 
writes, plnys, amuses or engages himself in his room until 
dinner. He then dresses himself neatly, without any os- 
6 



82 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

tentatious display, and adjourns to the dining-hall. All 
the engagements and amusements of the prince mark the 
man of taste. His conversation at table is delightful : he 
speaks much and well. It seems as if no subject were new 
to him, or above his comprehension : he is always ready 
with a store of original and judicious remarks. His wit 
resembles the perpetual flame of Vesta. He bears con- 
tradiction with calmness, and is even ' the cause of wit in 
others,' by his tact in calling forth judicious remarks. 
He jests and jokes at times, but without bitterness, and 
does not take offence at a witty repartee. 

" The library of the prince is admirably arranged ; it is 
situated in a tower of which I have spoken, and commands 
a view of the lake and garden. It contains a numerous and 
well-selected collection of the best French works, in glass 
cases, ornamented with carving and gilding. In it is sus- 
pended a full-length portrait of Voltaire. He is the prince 
royal's favorite author ; but, indeed, all the good French 
writers, in verse or prose, are held in high estimation by 
him. 

" After dinner the gentlemen adjourn to the saloon of 
the lady whose turn it is to do the honors at the coffee- 
table. The mistress of the household is the first in order, 
and the others follow in their turn, there being no excep- 
tion made, hot even in favor of visitors. The whole house- 
hold assembles round the coffee-table. We chat, joke, and 
amuse ourselves, and this hour is generally the pleasant- 
est of the whole day. The prince and princess take their 
coffee in their own room. The evenings are devoted to 
music, a concert being given by the prince in his saloon, 
for which an invitation is necessary. Such an invitation 
is always regarded as a special mark of favor. The prince 
generally performs upon the flute, of which instrument 
he is a perfect master, displaying much feeling, with a 
rapidity of fingering and execution singularly effective. 
He has himself composed several sonatas. I have often 
had the honor of standing behind him whilst playing, and 
have been particularly enchanted by his adagio. In fine, 



RESIDENCE IN RITEINSBERG. 83 

Frederick excels in all he undertakes. He dances elegant- 
ly, with ease and grace, and is partial to every honorable 
amusement, with the exception of the chase, Avhich he re- 
gards as destructive of time and mind, ' and,' as he says, 
^not more profitable than cleaning a chimney.'" 

The writer then proceeds to speak with rapture of the 
beauty, amiability, grace, and feminine character of ' the 

princess. " We have lately had " (he mentions amongst 

other things) " a most delightful ball. The prince, who 
usually appears in uniform, wore a rich green silk dress, 
trimmed with broad silver edgings and tassels. The waist- 
coat was of silver tissue, and richly embroidered. All the 
cavaliers of his suite were similarly, but less expensively, 
attired. Everything was rich and festive, but the prin- 
cess glittered as the most brilliant star amidst the throng. 
My life here is complete enchantment. A royal table, 
wine fit for gods, deUcious walks in gardens and groves, 
excursions by water, the delights of arts and science, 
agreeable conversation— everything combines, in this fairy 
palace, to give zest to life." 

The writer has forgotten to mention one kind of enter- 
tainment, which added much to the pleasure of Rheinsberg 
and exhibited Frederick in a new character— the perform- 
ance of plays, the different characters in which were 
sustained by the various visitors. Thus Frederick him- 
self appeared in Racme's Mithridates, and as Philoctetes 
in Voltaire's (Edipus. Masquerades were likewise held. 

The poetic inspiration which formed the soul of the en- 
joyments of Rheinsberg was cultivated in various ways. 
Thus the tradition connected \vith the place itself became 
a source of pleasure. The antiquarian assertion, which 
had been ventured centuries before, that Rheinsberg was 
originally termed Remusberg, from Remus, the co-founder 
of the Roman empire, who, after being expelled by his 
brother Romulus, had here founded a new empire, and 
that he lay interred in Remus Island, which was situated 
in the adjoining lake, had now become a subject of popular 
tradition. The discovery of some old blocks of marble, 



S4 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

which had been dug up in the island, is said to have given 
rise to this assertion ; while lately, some Italian monks 
are said to have searched on the Remusinsel for the ashes 
of the Roman hero, in consequence of hints contained in a 
recently-discovered manuscript. Many relics of antiquity 
found upon the island seemed to give a color of truth to 
the affair, and no one ventured to criticize the rights of 
the classic island too closely. The letters written from 
this place are generally dated Remusberg ; and the visitors, 
partly in jest, partly in earnest, were designated by names 
more harmonious than those which they bore in common 
life : thus Keyserling was generally called CsBsarion ; 
Jordan, Hasphestion or Tindal, and others in the same way. 

These ]3oetic tendencies assumed a more important shape 
in the foundation of a new order of knighthood, which in- 
cluded many princes, relatives and friends of Frederick, 
and several of the prince royal's more immediate military 
friends. The patron of the order Avas Bayard, the hero 
of French history. The badge consisted of a sword rest- 
ing on a laurel wreath, encircled by Bayard's well-known 
motto : " Without fear and without reproach." Fouque, 
who afterwards became so distinguished under Frederick, 
was the grand- master. The number of the knights was 
limited to twelve ; and the object of the order was to in- 
vite to military ardor, but more especially with a view 
to the improvement of military tactics. The knights wore 
a ring fashioned to represent a bent sword, with the motto : 
"The man that never surrenders." The members had 
each a distinctive appellation : Fouque was the Chaste ; 
Frederick, the Resolute ; while the Duke of Bevern was 
called the Knight of the Golden Quiver. To the absent 
members of the order, letters, conceived in the old French 
style of chivalry, were sent; and tliere is evidence that up 
to the period of the seven years' war, nay, even later, the 
fellowship of the order was regarded with the same 
pleasure, and its forms observed with almost the same 
exactitude, as in its infancy. 

It is possible that a similar poetic charm may have in- 



RESIDENCE IN RHEINSBERG. 85 

duced Frederick to enrol himself amongst the Masonic 
brotherhood. The mysterious gloom in which this society- 
was then wrapped, and the increased necessity for secrecy 
which was then felt, owing to the religious intolerance of 
the church, must have possessed an irresistible charm for 
the prince's peculiar tone of mind. His reception into 
the body took place in 1738, on his visiting the Rhenish 
provinces, in his father's suite. The king had here spoken 
in a very disparaging tone of freemasonry; but Count. 
Lippe,who happened to belong to that brotherhood, defend- 
ed the institution with such courage and eloquence, that the 
prince privately requested of him to procure his enrolment 
in a society which numbered such eloquent and fearless 
advocates amongst its members. In order to meet the 
wishes of the prince royal, it was arranged that his initia- 
tion into the mysteries of the craft should take place upon 
his arrival in Brunswick, on his way back ; and members of 
the brotherhood from Hamburg and Hanover, with the 
necessary apparatus, were summoned thither. His recep- 
tion took i^lace at night, as great circumspection was neces- 
sary to elude the vigilance of the king. Frederick insisted 
on being treated as an ordinary person and without any 
regard to his rank ; he was accordingly enrolled in the 
usual form. The courage, calmness, elegance, and address 
which he displayed during the performance of the 
ceremonies, excited as much admiration as his talents and 
conversation, when taking part in the masonic labors. 
Some members of the brotherhood (and amongst others 
the above-mentioned Bielfeld) were invited to Rheinsberg 
where the mysteries of the craft were afterwards con- 
tinued, but in the greatest secrecy. 

Consecrated as was the life of Frederick, during his 
sojourn in Rheinsberg, to the pleasures of the imagina- 
tion, and though he even made several attempts at poeti- 
cal composition, yet subjects of a more serious character 
were far from escaping his attention. The hours which 
Avere not passed in society — and these were by far the 
more numerous — he devoted to the most varied occupa- 



86 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

tions ; for, as the scientific culture of his mind had been 
previously neglected, he was now resolved to apply every 
minute to the repairing of this neglect, — not knowing 
the instant when a more busy sphere of action might 
withdraw him from the peaceful tranquillity of Rheins- 
berg. Frederick possessed the peculiar talent of ex- 
tracting their learning from the learned, either through 
the medium of conversation or epistolary correspondence, 
and making the information thus acquired completely his 
own. He thus, from a correspondence T\dth Grumbkow 
obtained an insight into all the secrets of Prussian diplo- 
macy ; he was instructed in the same way by the Prince 
of Anhalt-Dessau and other distinguished Avarriors, in the 
most approved arts of Avarfare, and maintained a similar 
intercourse, from the same motives, with physicians, 
theologians, and divines. His course of reading was 
very discursive ; much of his attention was engaged by 
the works of the ancient authors, more particularly the 
historians of antiquity, with whom he made himself ac- 
quainted through the medium of French translations. 

Frederick applied himself also, with considerable per- 
severance, to the consideration of those subjects which 
affect the weightiest interests of mankind ; he sought to 
obtain some satisfactory views as to the relation of 
the finite to the infinite, of the present to the eternal, 
of man to God. That complete religious prostra- 
tion, with which he had been overwhelmed at Ciistrin, 
had gradually passed away, as he regained his strength 
and faculties ; but the impression which it had left upon 
his mind was sufficiently vivid to incite him to a study of 
the great problem. Precepts enjoined in a mysterious 
form of creed were not sufficient to satisfy him ; his quick 
and acute mind required conviction. He began with the 
works of the most distinguished French divines ; he next 
sought, by means of written and verbal communication 
with the ablest French preachers in Berlin, from whom 
he demanded answers to particular questions, to have his 
doubts satisfied and removed. 



RESIDENCE IN RHEINSBERG. 87 

Amongst the preachers here alhided to, was one, the 
venerable Beausobre, who inspired him with strong feel- 
ings of regard. A sermon, which he had heard him 
preach in March, 1736, so completely enchanted him, 
that he sought his acquaintance. Beausobre was well 
calculated, by his imposing exterior and his polished ad- 
dress, to make an impression. After their first greeting 
was over, Frederick, despising all preliminary forms, ab- 
ruptly inquired, in what study the preacher was at pres- 
ent engaged. "Ah, monseigneur," replied Beausobre, 
in his habitually impressive tone of voice, " I was this 
moment reading a delightful and really divine passage 
the influence of which I still feel." " And what might 
that have been ! " " The opening of the Gospel of St. 
John." The answer came unexpectedly upon Frederick, 
and he feared that the biblical divine might not compre- 
hend his wants. But Beausobre succeeded, in the course 
of conversation, in so entirely captivating Frederick, that 
the latter, at the conclusion of the interview, volunteered 
the adoption of the divine's eldest son. Unhappily this 
venerable pastor died not long afterwards, — too soon for 
his youthful pupil. Frederick, however, kept his word to 
the deceased's son. 

The prince also called in philosophy to aid him in the 
solution of his theological difficulties. Wolff, the cele- 
brated scholar whom Frederick William had expelled 
from Halle, occupied the foremost rank amongst the 
philosophers of his day, and his writings were received 
by the learned with delight. Frederick's attention had 
been called to them by his friends. Wolff's Logic, Ethics, 
and Philosophy were translated into French (he had al- 
ready accustomed himself to frame his thoughts in that 
tongue only,) for his use, and he was actively engaged in 
appropriating to himself the results of the other's investi- 
gations, and even, wherever he thought he could himself 
detect errors or imperfections, in correcting or supplying 
the deficiencies. He returned to that doctrine of predesti^- 
nation of which he had formerly entertained so crude 



88 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

a conception ; but he sought to strip it of its merciless 
rigor, and reconcile it with human energy. From such 
a religious conviction alone could that entire defiance of 
death, which accompanied all the mighty actions of his 
after life, arise. 

But, on the whole, he did not acquire any considerable 
relish for philosophical speculations, and he soon abandoned 
such attempts altogether. Nature had not formed him for 
meditative tranquillity, but for energy and action. Tluus 
those elements only of philosophy, ethics, for instance, 
which exert a more immediate influence on life, brougjit 
him in connection with that science. All his works, 
which do not refer to historical subjects, are devoted to 
disquisitions on ethics. It would accordingly appear as 
the irony of chance, that just as a fair copj^ of the French 
translation of Wolff's metaphysics was ready, one of the 
monkeys, which Frederick then kept, seized it, and 
calmly thrust it into the fire. 

The man who excited the strongest and most powerful 
interest in the breast of Frederick, was the same who 
raised himself to the pinnacle of literary glory in France 
- — and consequently throughout Europe — Voltaire. It 
was not, unquestionably, any depth of knowledge, nor 
the fire of enthusiasm, which had raised Voltaire to his 
brilliant position ; — it was that unceasing war which he 
waged, with all the weapons of raillery and knowledge, 
against the antiquated pretensions, whether of the church 
or the schools ; — it was that brilliant torch of sound com- 
mon sense, which he hurled into the darkness of supersti- 
tion ; — it was that universality of genius which rendered 
every department of knowledge, history, physics and 
philosophy, and even every poetical form, subservient 
to the dissemination of the new doctrines, rendering them 
comprehensible to the many ; — it was, in fine, that com- 
mand of language, that equally witty and captivating 
dress in which he veiled the creations of his playful 
fancy, that enchained the attention of his readers. Every- 
thing he wrote had a specially practical character ; there- 



RESIDENCE IN RHEINSBERG. 89 

fore it was that Frederick found in Voltaire the man 
who gave expression to the undefined ideas which he felt 
within his own breast. Frederick had long derived in- 
struction from Voltaire's writings: in the year 1736, 
then in his twenty- fourth year, he addressed a letter to 
this literary lion, then in his forty-second year, testify- 
ing his admiration, and offering his friendship ; a corre- 
spondence was thus opened between these two great men, 
which, with some interruptions lasted to the close of 
Voltaire's life, a period of fortj^-two j^ears. Frederick 
submitted his philosophical studies and practical essays 
to his friend, with a view to derive instruction and advice. 
His admiration knew no bounds : Voltaire's productions 
were prized by him beyond everything; his portrait, 
suspended over Frederick's writing-desk, constituted the 
chief ornament of his library : he was in tlie habit of com- 
paring it with the statue of Memnon, in its life-diffusing 
properties. Of Voltaire's Henriade he intended to pub- 
lish a splendid edition, with copper-plate engravings, for 
which Knobelsdorff was to furnish the drawings — an 
undertaking which remained, however, unaccomplished. 
He was in the habit of asserting that a single thought 
in the Henriade was worth the whole of Homer's Iliad. 
He made Voltaire many valuable presents : nay, he ac- 
tually sent, in Keyserling's person, an ambassador to him, 
to present him with his portrait, painted by Knobelsdorff, 
and in return to procure Voltaire's last works, particularly 
such as were withheld from publication. This acquisition 
Frederick was wont to call his Golden Fleece. 

Thus Frederick passed his time in Rheinsberg, actively 
preparing himself for that high post which he was soon 
to occupy. But some extraordinary fruits of these studies 
appeared even during this period ; writings, in which he 
expressed his views and sentiments for his own guidance 
and that of others. His poetical effusions of this period 
are of less moment. They, at least the earlier ones of 
which we are now speaking, display the same defect that 
is observable in his philosophical essays — an attention to 



90 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

the mere practical part, being mostly ethical disquisitions. 
Such only of his poems as were written during the seven 
years' war, when the hand of tribulation was heavy upon 
him, and braced every dormant energy of his mind to 
action and resistance, display anything like deep or heart- 
felt emotion. Far more important and curious than these, 
his early poetical inspirations, are two treatises which he 
composed during the period of his residence in Rheins- 
berg. 

One of these, written in the year 1736, is entitled, 
" Considerations on the present State of the political Re- 
lations of Europe." Frederick here discusses the critical 
position of Europe, arising out of the coalition of France 
and Austria ; and with a degree of intellectual acumen, 
surprising in a youth of twenty-four years of age, he 
draws his deductions, based on the constant policy of 
these kingdoms — the unceasing aggrandizement of France, 
and Austria's struggle for absolute supremacy over 
Germany, — and points out the probable results of such 
coalition, provided no new power be developed amongst 
the other states. This treatise was conceived ^vith a fore- 
boding of that new power which was to be evolved in his 
own person. He concludes with emphatically reminding 
princes, " that their weakness hitherto has been the re- 
sult of their absurd reliance upon themselves, and that 
nations have not been made for princes, but princes for 
nations." 

Such were the novel doctrines which Frederick was 
resolved to reduce to practice and make the foundation 
of his government, and to which he remained faithful 
during the whole course of his life. Indeed, Frederick 
intended to have this treatise published in England, but 
abstained from doing so from certain motives ; it was not 
discovered until after his death, when it was found 
amongst his posthumous works. 

The second treatise, which is of a more comprehensive 
nature, was written by Frederick in the year 1739. This 
is the well-known work, which, under the title of " Anti- 



RESIDENCE IN RHEINSBERG. 91 

Machiavelli," was intended as an answer to the celebrated 
one, written by the eminent Florentine historian Nicolo 
Machiavelli, in the beginning of the sixteenth century. 
Machiavelli's work — which must certainly be regarded as 
a masterpiece, considering the relations which it was in- 
tended to affect, and the object which the author had in 
view — lays down precepts for the attainment and main- 
tenance of unlimited sovereignty, with particular reference 
to the Florentine state of that period. Frederick regarded 
the author as the a^postle of despotism in general, and 
viewed the doctrines inculcated, not alone as base but even 
slanderous of the exalted duties of rulers. Replying to each 
argument of the Italian he triumphantly demonstrated, 
that instead of despotic or criminal acts, virtue, justice, and 
benignity should form the basis of government, as these 
latter can alone secure permanent happiness to the mon- 
arch. His whole line of reasoning is based upon the maxim 
with which he concluded the former treatise, namely, that 
the monarch is not to be regarded as the unlimited lord of 
the people he sways, but as the first servant of that people. 
The reader is not to expect in the above work a dispas- 
sionate historico-scientific review of the arguments which 
the prince sought to combat ; but as containing an explicit 
statement of the views of an heir to a mighty monarchy, 
and that, too, at a time when his succession to the crown 
could not, in the course of nature, be far distant, this 
book cannot fail to awaken considerable interest. Nor 
did it at the time of its appearance in Holland, where 
Frederick had it printed under the inspection of Voltaire, 
but without Frederick's name being appended to it, attract 
any mean share of attention. The author's name did not 
remain a secret long, and the world waited, with impa- 
tience, an opportunity of judging in how far Frederick's 
practice would coincide with his precepts. He was al- 
ready in possession of the crown. 



gg FREDERICK THE GREAT. 



CHAPTER XII. 

DEATH OF THE FATHER. 



Delightful as were the days passed in Rhemsberg, 
vet they were not wholly unclouded. Onerous duties in 
Ruppii^ visits to the court of his father in Berlin, excur- 
sions to the distant provinces of the kingdom, caused but 
too frequent interruptions ; they however served, on his 
return, to heighten the enjoyment derivable from society, 

science, and art. u xt,„ 

The principal aim of Frederick's life was now, by the 
zealous discharge of his various duties, to win the mon- 
arch's applause. Unremitting in his exertions that his 
regiment should appear on field-days and reviews as one 
of the handsomest and best discipUned, he had the grati- 
fication of seeing himself complimented by his father in 
presence of his staff. This military zeal was of all things 
that best calculated to neutralize the expressions of dis- 
approval which Frederick's social and scientific engage- 
ments would at times elicit from his parent. Frederick 
exerted himself, likewise, to procure from all quarters 
of the globe the tallest and handsomest recruits for the 
regiment, which the king in person commanded. He also 
sought, by means of small presents for the kings table, 
the produce of the gardens or shambles of Rhemsberg, to 
give so many tokens of attention and respect. All this 
was dictated by prudence; but it emanated still more 
from a feeling of veneration for his father, whose un- 
questionable services to the state had exalted him to a 
high rank m Frederick's estimation. 



DEATH OF THE FATHER. 93 

A considerable change had likewise taken place in 
Frederick William's character during the latter years of 
his life. Frederick himself, writing to a friend, in De- 
cember, 1738, mentions the fact of the king speaking 
in praise of the sciences. " I am quite charmed and de- 
lighted," he writes, " at what I have seen and heard. I 
feel all the sentiments of filial love redoubled within me, 
when listening to such rational and correct views from 
the lips of the author of my being." A year afterwards 
he was enabled to announce to another friend a still more 
important change in the character of the king ; in effect- 
ing which the superior abilities of the son were, perhaps, 
partially instrumental. " The news of the day is," such 
are his words, " that the king spends three hours daily in 
reading Wolff's Philosophy, for which God be praised ! " 
It was a compendium of Wolff's Natural Theology which 
the king was then reading. Frederick William was like- 
wise most anxious, towards the close of his days, to make 
amends for the errors of his former life, and procure the 
return to his kingdom of the banished philosopher. This 
remained, however, for his successor to effect. 

But Frederick's feelings of admiration for his father's 
virtues became perfectly enthusiastic, on accompanying 
him, during the summer of 1739, on a tour through 
Prussia, and perceiving the blessings which the monarch 
had diffused over a completely desolated province — the 
same which had been assigned to the Salzburg exiles. 
Frederick's feelings are best expressed in his own words. 
" Here we are," he thus writes from Lithuania to Voltaire, 
" arrived in a land which I regard as the ne plus ultra of 
the civilized world. This province is but little known, 
and may be said to have been called by the king, 
my father, into being. Lithuania was ravaged by the 
plague ; twelve or fifteen depopulated cities and four or 
five hundred uninhabited villages, formed the melan- 
choly spectacle which here met the eye. The king spared 
no expense in the execution of his humane design. He 
rebuilt, remodelled, and induced several thousand familieg 



94 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

from all parts of Europe to settle here. The soil was 
tilled, the land peopled, trade flourished, and this pro- 
vince, which is one of the most fertile in Germany, is now 
as thriving as ever. And all this has been solely the 
work of the king, who spared neither money, labor, 
trouble, promises, nor rewards for effectuating an object, 
not alone devised but carried into execution by himself, 
whereby he has secured peace and prosperity to a million 
of sentient beings, who are indebted to him for their weal 
and good government. To me there seems to be some- 
thing heroic in the completion of so noble an undertak- 
ing — in thus colonizing a desert and rendering it fertile 
and prosperous ; and I feel confident that you will coin- 
cide with me in this opinion." During this tour the 
prince royal received a particular and perfectly unex- 
pected mark of the king's favor, in the shape of a present 
of an extensive establishment for breeding horses, which 
produced an annual sum of ten or twelve thousand 
thalers. This act of generosity was the less expected, 
inasmuch as the king had, but a short time previously, 
given utterance to a feeling of dislike towards Frederick 
— and that in no very measured language ; this token 
of undiminished affection came, therefore, so completely 
unaware, that he could not find words to express his 
gratitude. This accession to his income was the more 
welcome, as his expenditure far exceeded his receipts, 
and he had been forced to raise considerable sums of 
money, by way of loan, in foreign countries. This source 
of uneasiness and embarrassment was thus removed for 
the remainder of the monarch's life. 

But the days of the king were now drawing to a close. 
Every vestige of disunion between the father and son 
had, however, disappeared, and had been superseded by 
feelings of mutual esteem. Frederick William could 
commit the fortunes of his subjects, without a fear, to the 
hands of his son. He suffered an attack, during his tour 
through Prussia, of his old disorder, but with redoubled 
virulence, and attended by the worst symptoms of dropsy. 



DEATH OF THE FATHER. 95 

During the entire winter his sufferings were extreme. 
Frederick passed the greater part of his time in attend- 
ance on him. The letters written by the son to the 
father during this period give evidence of the kindest 
attention. 

As spring drew on the situation of the king seemed to 
exhibit signs of improvement, and Frederick returned to 
liheinsberg. An express, announcing the approaching 
dissolution of the monarch, summoned him from thence. 
Frederick hastened to Potsdam, where the king had 
chiefly resided during his illness. On Frederick's arrival 
his father had partially revived, and was seated in front 
of the palace, in a chair on wheels, in which he was 
moved about, as he had long lost the use of his limbs. 
The king was inspecting the laying of the foundation- 
stone of a neighboring house. On recognizing the prince 
some distance off, he extended his arms to clasp him, and 
his son was soon wrapjjed in his embraces. They re- 
mained a considerable time in this position, without 
either speaking. " He had certainly been always harsh," 
he admitted to his son, " but still he had ever loved him 
with a parent's love ; it was a great consolation to have 
been able to see him once more." Frederick replied in 
terms suited to the strong excitement he labored under. 
The monarch was conveyed to his chamber, and conversed 
there for more than an hour, in private, with the prince, 
informing him, with unusual vigor, of the internal and 
external relations of his kingdom. He continued these 
discourses during the few remaining days of his life. On 
the second day, as the prince and several of the higher 
oflBcers of state happened to be present, he exclaimed, ad- 
dressing the latter : " Has not God been very kind to me 
in giving me so good and noble a son ! " On this Fred- 
erick arose and kissed his father's hand ; but the king 
drew him towards him, and, embracing him affection- 
ately, exclaimed : " My God ! I die in peace, as I possess 
go worthy a son and successor ! " 

A few days afterwards the king commanded the pre*- 



gg FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

ence of his whole household, the ministers of state, aiid 
the superior officers of his own regiment, m his ante- 
chamber. On being wheeled into this room m his chair, 
he appeared exceedingly feeble, and scarcely able to ar- 
Mat^ His kingdom and the command of his regiment 
he solemnly resigned to Frederick, by proclamation of 
one of the officers present, and exhorted t^-^/^^^^^^^ *« 
testify towards his son the same fidelity and aUegiance 
which they had ever exhibited towards himself. He was 
To exhausted by this exertion, that he had to be conveyed 
to his bed. The prince and queen attended him thither. 
He resigned himself calmly to the last agonies, and ex- 
pired, whilst offering up a pious prayer, on the 31st ot 

^^ The SUg had left directions in his will that his inter- 
ment should be unattended with pomp. The prince roya 
obeyed these instructions ; but being apprehensive that 
the public might put a false construction upon his acts, 
andCignoraL of the wishes expressed in the monarch s 
S, attribute his conduct to the former differences which 
had' existed between them, he «-t>«-l"!^^f ^ ™f^^," 
solemn funeral procession in memory of his father, t red- 
er ck L himself, when writing his father's ^e, ^Po^e- 
of these differences in a spirit of filial du y, alluding to 
tavern in these words: «We have passed over the do- 
mestic crosses of this great prince in silence^ Some lenity 
is due to the faults of the children m consideration ot the 
virtues of their parent." 



FEEDEEICK'a ACCE*SiON. 97 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Frederick's accession. 

Frederick was seized with the bitterest anguish as 
he gazed on the closing eyelids of his dying parent. 
Every fond feeling of his childhood, which late years had 
awakened, crowded upon him ; the virtues which had dis- 
tinguished the government of his father seemed to fling 
an additional hold round his memorj^ But he did not 
surrender himself, whilst surveying the past, to vain re- 
grets. He paid the best tribute of sincere veneration to 
the shade of his father, by following boldly in the path 
which the latter had marked out for him, and by labor- 
ing to improve the mechanism of the state, which the 
master-hand of his father had called into being ; making 
only such additions as, in accordance with the freedom of 
his own spirit, would liberalize its institutions. Master- 
ing his grief, he devoted himself with the most restless 
energy to his high vocation ; and even the few first days 
of his government indicated in how far his future policy 
was likely to be conservative or innovatory — how, m 
short, he was resolved to reign. 

The line of conduct which the king pursued, was to 
many productive of the bitterest disappointment, whilst 
to others it was a source of unexpected delight. Every 
one had expected that considerable changes would now 
take place in the state ; that the men who had enjoyed 
the especial confidence of the preceding monarch would 
now play a more subordinate part. But Frederick felt 
little inclination to act harshly towards real merit, in 



98 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

order to gratify any personal dislike, arising from their 
former conduct towards himself as an individual. An 
instance of his conduct in this respect is related, with ref- 
erence to the old warrior, Prince Leopold of Dessau, who 
had formerly belonged to the Austrian court party, and 
who, on his paying a visit of condolence to Frederick, 
entered the presence-chamber in tears, and besought the 
king to permit himself and his sons to retain their posts 
in the army, and their former influence and consequence. 
To this Frederick replied, that he would not deprive him 
of his former rank, as he expected that the prince would 
continue to serve him as faithfully as he had served his 
father ; but at the same time added : "that as to influence 
and consequence, no one under his government should 
possess either but himxself." It created still more sur- 
prise, that Frederick should not only continue in office 
the former minister of finance, de Boden, who had been 
accused of unworthy practices, and seemed to be by no 
means a favorite, but that he should even present him 
with a splendid, newly-built, and fully-furnished palace. 
Others, on the contrary, found themselves sorely dis- 
appointed in the hopes which they had conceived them- 
selves warranted in building on Frederick's accession to 
the throne. In this way the meritorious Lieutenant- 
general De Schulemburg found himself exposed to a sharp 
rebuke from the youthful king, in consequence of his 
having from a friendly feeling, and in order to offer his 
personal congratulations to the new monarch, left his 
regiment without having first obtained leave of absence. 
In this way a number of adventurers, allured by the more 
lively turn of Frederick's mind, crowded in upon him, 
whilst nothing was further from Frederick's thoughts 
than to lend himself to their absurd schemes. The 
bundles of congratulatory poems which were transmitted 
to the royal poet repaid the labor of versification but 
poorly. Several of his former favorites had likewise to 
discover that they had formed but a very false estimate 
of his character. One of these could find nothing more 



FREDERICK'S ACCESSION. 99 

important to do, than to write immediately to a friend In 
Paris, inviting him to come to Berlin, with the assurance 
that there was now every prospect of his making his 
fortune there, and of leading the merriest life in the 
world in Frederick's society. Unfortunately, Frederick 
had entered the chamber of the Berlin correspondent un- 
observed, and had read the letter. He took it out of the 
writer's hand, tore it, and said very calmly, " The farce is 
now at an end." 

But those amongst Frederick's friends whose real 
fidelity, merits and capabilities had been tested, saw an 
honorable path to fame now opened before them. Fred- 
erick took care to provide each with a situation suiting 
his peculiar capacity, and in which his services might be 
rendered most available to the state. Those who had 
innocently suffered on his account were now nobly 
recompensed. The father of the unfortunate Katte was 
created count and field-marshal : the other relations of 
Katte received likewise particular marks of the king's 
favor. The trusty Duhan was recalled from his place 
of banishment, and Frederick took care to make a com- 
petent provision for his tutor's declining days. Keith 
also returned to Berlin, and was raised to the rank of 
captain and lieutenant- colonel. The president De Mlin- 
chow, had, from the time of the termination of Fred- 
erick's captivity in Ciistrin, been exposed to many 
crosses, as an indemnification for which both he and his 
sons were honored with special marks of Frederick's 
approbation. 

Frederick entertained the same solicitude for the welfare 
of his brothers and sisters ; in particular for the suitable 
education of his younger brothers. To his mother he testi- 
fied the tenderest regard up to the hour of her death. On 
her addressing him at the funeral of his father by the title 
of " Your Majesty," he interrupted her, and said, " Call me 
your son ; I am prouder of this title than that of king." 
He conducted himself with the same deferential regard 
towards his wife, although the report was soon spread 

LcfC. 



100 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

that, as his marriage had not been blessed wdth issue he 
intended to be divorced from her, and proceed to o. 
second alliance. But Frederick thought not of divorce. 
On the contrary, it is stated that after his accession to 
the throne he presented her to his assembled court 
■with the words : " This is your queen ! " and embrac- 
ing her tenderly in presence of all assembled, kissed her 
affectionately. But that cordiality which had existed 
between Frederick and his consort during the happy days 
of their sojourn in Rheinsburg, had fled forever : they 
soon lived separate from one another, and only met on 
occasions of public ceremony. The gentle, feminine 
piety which formed the very soul of this rare princess 
suited, perchance, but ill that severity of reasoning which 
Frederick was accustomed to apply to the revelations of 
religion : Frederick took care, notwithstanding, that she 
should enjoy all the honors which were her due as reign- 
ing queen ; and was most scrupulous in seeing that she 
was treated by the foreign embassies with all the court- 
esy due to her rank. She repaid these attentions with 
the most touching tenderness and devotion. 

As to the mode in which Frederick Avished the admin- 
istration of affairs in exchequer matters to be carried on, 
his language was sufficiently explicit. Immediately after 
his accession, on the occasion of the ministers of state 
appearing before him, on the 2d of June, to do homage, 
his high-minded declaration, of which he never lost sight 
during his whole reign, was as follows : " Sincerely 
grateful though we be (he thus addressed the ministers) 
for the faithful services you have rendered our dearly 
beloved father, yet it is not our pleasure that you should 
enrich us at the expense of our poorer subjects ; you 
shall, on the contrary, consider yourselves bound by 
virtue of the present command, to provide with the same 
care for the happiness of the country at large as for our 
own ; the more particularly as we do not wish to recog- 
nize any distinction between our own individual interest 
and that of the land in general, the latter of which you 



FREDERICK'S ACCESSION. 101 

are as little to lose sight of as the former ; nay the ad- 
vantage of the country at large is to have precedence of 
our own in the event of their clashing." 

These sentiments, which were at that period but 
rarely to be met with in princes, were soon practically 
exemplified by Frederick in a manner that gained hi:n 
universal love. The preceding winter had been one of 
unusual severity and duration ; scarcity and famine 
were, in many places, the consequences. But the voice of 
misery was not long in reaching the ear of the youtbf iil 
sovereign. On the very second day after his accession \ 
he ordered the well-filled granaries to be opened, and the # 
corn retailed to the people at moderate prices. Wherever •(/ 
the -supplies were insufficient, large quantities were pro- 
cured from the neighboring kingdoms. The game killed 
in the royal preserves were likewise sold at low prices. 
Several taxes, which pressed hea^vily upon the neces- 
saries of life, were for a time Avholly remitted. In fine, 
several sums of money, which had been spared by re- 
trenchment in the expenses of the household, were, 
distributed amongst the most needy. The shouts of joy 
with which the presence of the young king was every- 
where greeted in consequence of these acts came really 
from the hearts of the people. But Frederick did not 
overlook, even during the few first days of his reign, the 
importance of those causes of national prosperity which 
operate silently ; several ordinances were issued, having 
for their object the increase and improvement of manu- 
factures ; skilful artizans, who would consent to immi- 
grate to Prussia, were secured in many privileges. 

Frederick was not the less alive to the advantages 
which a powerful standing army could fail of ensuring 
to the scattered dominions of the Prussian monarchy. 
Little as the severity of military service seemed originally 
consonant to his nature, yet his energies were now, never- 
theless, carefully directed to its discipline and develop- 
ment. Only in such superfluous expenditure as tended 
to no practical purpose was retrenchment made. This 



102 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

military reform opened with the disbandonment of the 
Giant-guard, which the late king had maintained in Pots- 
dam for his own pleasure. It is even said that Fred- 
erick William, shortly before his death, communicated to 
his son an account of the vast sums which the mainte- 
nance of this corps had cost, and had even recommended 
its disbandonment. This body appeared for the last time 
in the funeral procession, as guard of honor to the late 
king's remains : it was immediately afterwards dissolved, 
and the men distributed amongst the other regiments. 
Frederick obtained thereby the means of adding more 
than ten thousand men to his army. In other respects 
provision was made for the splendor of the military 
career. All the flags and standards of Prussia were now 
decorated with the Prussian black eagle, grasping the 
sword and sceptre in his claws, with the inscription: 
" Pro Gloria et Patria ! " 

The most important changes which Frederick intro- 
duced were in those elements of life which had met with 
the least attention from his father. Frederick struck off 
the shackles from the mind, and thereby conferred a 
degree of moral power far more potent than swords or 
any engines of war. Freedom of speech had been pro- 
hibited by his father ; newspapers, at first wholly forbid- 
den, had been subsequently tolerated under oppressive re- 
strictions, and dragged on a wretched existence. Shortly 
after Frederick's accession two journals were published 
at his instance, which soon became of importance, and to 
which he himself contributed some articles. An Academy 
of Sciences was founded, and literary men of eminence 
invited from different countries to Berlin. Frederick was 
particularly anxious to regain the services of Professor 
Wolff : he said in a letter to Provost Rheinbeck : " The 
man who seeks and loves truth must be esteemed by every 
community ; " and that it was his opinion that Wolff's 
being induced to return would be a great moral victory. 
Wolff yielded to the solicitation of his noble disciple, and 
returned to Halle, where he was received with every 



FREDERICK'S ACCESSION. 103 

honor. Contemporaneously with the above appeared a 
royal edict, restricting government situations to such 
only as had spent two years at a Prussian university. 
The society of Freemasons was now publicly acknow- 
ledged : Frederick himself held a solemn lodge shortly 
after his accession, in which he took the chair as master. 

The more enlightened character of his mind was favor- 
able to a freer development of other relations of life. 
Religious toleration was one of the most important max- 
ims which Frederick enforced from the commencement 
of his reign, and mth which he opposed all the abuses of 
narrow-minded bigotry. A second point at which he 
aimed was the attainment of a purer and more rational 
administration of the law. But to effectuate this object, 
a complicated structure, the result of mature deliberation 
and judicial wisdom, was absolutely essential. The first 
rays of that light which Frederick was destined to shed, 
appeared in the form of some new ordinances. One of 
these, which was promulgated on the third day of his 
reign, was the abolition of torture, except in some extraor- 
dinary cases ; and even in these it was abolished some 
few years subsequently. The neighboring states did not 
imitate his example until much later. 

Every change thus introduced by Frederick in the very 
commencement of his reign, was altogether his own work ; 
his ministers but carried his orders into execution. By 
means of the most extraordinary activity, and an exact 
subdivision of his time, he succeeded — a thing hitherto un- 
heard of — in observing, examining, and conducting every- 
thing himself. And yet he found time to devote some 
hours of recreation to the arts, poetry, and, in particular, to 
music ; and these enjoyments served but to give, in turns, 
a greater elasticity to his mind. The strongest evidence 
of his unusual activity in the discharge of business is to be 
found in the dispatches of the foreign ambassadors then 
resident at the Berlin court. They complain that the 
king is his own mmister, and that there is no one of 
whom they can make a confidant, and through whom they 



104 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

can attain influence; adding, that it would be most 
advisable to act with frankness towards this young king, 
unusual as such a course might be. 

About the middle of July Frederick proceeded to Kon- 
igsberg, in order to receive the homage of the Prussian 
chambers. His grandfather had there assumed the Prus- 
sian kingly crown. But Frederick William had been 
averse to ceremony, and had neglected the form of a 
coronation. Frederick, likewise, saw no necessity for 
reviving all the forms. " I am now^ travelling (he thus 
expresses himself in a letter to Voltaire) to Prussia, there 
to receive homage, but without the holy oil-bottle, and 
the idle and empty ceremonials which ignorance devised 
and custom has hallowed." The coronation took place 
on the 20th July. Frederick had himself mstructed in 
all the necessary formalities by a friend well acquainted 
Avith such matters. He afterwards asked this person 
Avhether he had acquitted himself tolerably. " Oh, yes, 
sire," replied the person interrogated, " but there vras one 
who acquitted himself still better." " And who might 
that be?" "Louis the Fifteenth." "But I," added 
Frederick, with a smile, " knew a person who did the 
thing still better." " And who was that ? " " Baron ! " 
(a well-known French actor.) 

On the whole, Frederick was very well satisfied with 
his few days' residence in Konigsberg. The coronation 
sermon, preached by the court preacher, Quandt, met 
with his decided approbation : he had heard Quandt 
previously with pleasure, and in a work on German litera- 
ture, which he wrote in the evening of his life, he makes 
mention of Quandt as one of the best public speakers 
which Germany ever possessed. He derived particular 
pleasure from a torch-light procession, which the Kon- 
igsberg students arranged in his honor ; in return for 
which he provided them with a plenteous entertainment. 
The manoeuvres of the Konigsberg troops were likewise 
completely to his satisfaction. He marked his approval 
by conferring several favors as well upon the town as 



FREDERICK'S ACCESSION. 105 

upon the whole province, mhiclful of the motto, which 
the medals distributed at the coronation bore — "The 
Prosperity of the People." 

On Frederick's return to Berlin on the 2d of August, 
he received the homage of the Curmark chambers ; and 
on his appearing in the balcony after the coronation, the 
people gave three joyous shouts for " King Frederick ! " 
Contrary to custom and etiquette, he remained half an 
hour gazing fixedly and intently upon the myriads collected 
in front of the palace, and apparently absorbed in medita- 
tion. The medals distributed in Berlin bore the inscrip- 
tion : — " For Truth and Justice." 

A short time afterwards Frederick left Berlin a second 
time, to receive the homage of the Westphalian provinces. 
He first paid a visit to the Margravine of Baireuth, his 
eldest sister, * in her capital. From thence he made a 
rapid detour to Strasbourg, in order to touch French soil 
and see French soldiers. For the purpose of escaping 
observation, he had assumed the name of Count De Four, 
and was accompanied by but few attendants. The whole 
cortege consisted of two carriages. On their arrival at 
Kehl (on the German side of the Rhine, opposite Stras- 
bourg) the landlord directed the attention of Frederick's 
valet to the fact of its being necessary to produce the pass- 
ports immediately on their arrival at the other side. The 
latter made out a passport accordingly, and presented it 
to Frederick for signature, who appended the royal seal. 
The hotel-keeper, to whom this process appeared unusually 
summary, quickly suspected from whom alone it could 
emanate ; and it was a matter of much difficulty to pur- 
chase his silence. 

On his arrival in Strasbourg, in order that his appear- 
ance might be more completely French, he ordered some 
clothes to be made in the newest French fashion. He 
became acquainted in a coffee-house with some French 
officers, and invited them to supper ; they were charmed 
with the information, grace, and elegance of their host, 
but sought in vain to penetrate his secret. Frederick 



106 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

visited the parade on the following day. He was here 
recognized by a soldier, who had been formerly in the 
Prussian service ; the fact was immediately communicated 
to the governor, Marshal De Broglio, and Frederick had 
much difficulty in evading the honors intended for him 
by the marshal. The news soon spread throughoiit the 
city, and the people were overjoyed at having the young 
king, of whose fame they had already heard so much, in 
the midst of them. The tailor who had made the clothes 
would not consent to accept of payment : being satisfied 
with the honor of having worked for the Prussian monarch. 
Bonfires blazed during the evening throughout the streets, 
and from all sides rang the shout, " Vive le Eoi de Priisse ! " 

From Strasbourg Frederick proceeded doA\ai to Wesel. 
This tour was not quite of so melancholy a character as 
that which he had made as a prisoner ten years previously, 
but he derived little enjoyment even now, ovv^ing to his 
suffering from an attack of fever. This fever was the 
cause of Frederick's abandoning his original intention of 
visiting Voltaire at Brabant, Avhere the poet was then re- 
siding. Frederick had, however, but to express the wish, 
and Voltaire came to meet his royal admirer at the palace 
of Mayland, in Cleves. Frederick was so enfeebled by 
disease, that he apologized for not being able to receive 
so great a genius as he deserved. He was now as much 
charmed with the man as he had been hitherto with his 
books. " Voltaire," says Frederick in a letter to Jordan, 
written shortly after this visit, " is as eloquent as Cicero, 
as agreeable as Pliny, as wise as Agrippa : he unites in 
his own person all the virtues and talents of the men of 
antiquity. His mind is perpetually at work, and every 
drop of ink that flows from his pen is pregnant with wit. 
He has read us his noble tragedy of Mahomet : we were 
enchanted. I could only admire and be silent. You will 
find me," adds Frederick, " on my return very talkative ; 
but remember, I have seen two things which I always 
admired — Voltaire and French troops." 

On his way back Frederick was present at the be- 



FREDERICK'S ACCESSION. 107 

throthal, in Salzdalum, of his brother, Prince August 
William, with the sister of Frederick's wife, the Prin- 
cess Louisa Amelia of Brunswick. 

Frederick's visit to Westphalia had given rise to a 
political demonstration, which served to illustrate very 
forcibly the future political conduct of this monarch. A 
similar incident had even previously occurred during the 
three first weeks of his reign. The Kurfiirst of Mayence 
had made an unjust claim to a part of the territory of the 
Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, an ancient ally of the house of 
Brandenburg. Frederick sent a serious remonstrance to 
the Kurfiirst, cautioning him against disturbing the peace 
of the empire : the consequence of which was that the 
latter withdrew his troops. 

The second incident was more important. Prussia had 
become possessed, by inheritance, of Hirstal, a place 
situated in the see of the Bishop of Liege. The inhab- 
itants of Hirstal had rebelled during the lifetime of 
Frederick William, and had been protected by the bishop, 
who coveted its possession. Frederick William had in 
vain endeavored to arrange the matter amicably. Hirstal 
now refused to swear fealty to Frederick, and was sus- 
tained in this line of conduct by the bishop. Frederick 
thereupon sent one of his higher officers of state, to obtain 
a distinct declaration from the bishop on the subject, and 
at the same time to point out the consequences to which he 
might expose himself by his conduct. This declaration 
could not be obtained, and 1600 Prussian troops invested 
the bishop's territories. The latter applied for aid to all 
the neighboring princes, and in particular to the emperor. 
His imperial majesty wrote emphatically to Frederick, to 
the effect that, instead of redressing his own wrongs, he 
should bring his complaint before the Diet. But Frederick, 
well aware of the futility of such a proceeding, defended 
his conduct in his reply, and refused to withdraw his 
troops. The bishop was now compelled to come to terms ; 
and on the 20th of October a treaty was entered into, by 
which Frederick assigned Hirstal to the bishop for a con- 



108 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

siderable sum of money. The isolated position of Hirstal 
was the chief inducement for disposing of it in this 
manner. 

Thus Frederick had, within the first five months of 
his reign, given sufficient evidence of the principles which 
were to guide his future government. But the freedom 
and independence which were manifest in his actions 
were altogether too strange and extraordinary for his con- 
temporaries to comprehend or properly estimate. The 
hour had, however, already arrived, ^vhen the sword was 
to open a more brilliant path to fame, and bring his name 
into the mouths of men. 



OPENING OF THE SILESIAN WAR, 109 



CHAPTER XIV. 

OPENING OF THE SILESIAN WAR. 

Unusually cheering was the prospect which the com- 
mencement of autumn ushered in. Voltaire had come, 
on Frederick's invitation, to Berlin, where they could now 
communicate more freely than at their first hasty inter- 
view. Besides Voltaire, many other distinguished men 
had gathered round Frederick. His two sisters, the 
Margravines of Baireuth and Anspach, had also come 
upon a visit. The pleasures of intellectual enjoyment, 
concerts, and festivities seemed to promise a long course 
of gaiety. 

Just at this moment a courier arrived with intelligence 
that the Emperor Charles VI. had expired, on the 20th of 
October (1740). Frederick was at Rheinsberg, whither he 
generally resorted to recover from the periodic attacks of 
fever to which he was subject. Shaking off the fever per- 
force, he began to meditate on the execution of that which 
had long occupied his thoughts. " Now is the time," he 
writes to Voltaire, " in which the old political system may 
be made to undergo an entire change ; the stone is loosed 
which shall fall on Nebuchadnezzar's statue of many 
metals, and crush them all." 

The figure which Nebuchadnezzar had seen in a dream, 
and which the prophet Daniel had been summoned to in- 
terpret for him, was nobly wrought in metals, but its feet 
were of iron and clay, so that it could withstand no shock. 
Such was likcAvise the constitution of the Austrian domin- 
ions. This vast empire possessed no internal strength j 



110 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

an unfortunate war with the Turks had exhausted its last 
resources. Prince Eugene, long the prop of the state, was 
dead. Charles VI. had devoted his whole life to obtain- 
ing the acquiescence of the principal sovereigns of Eu- 
rope in the succession of his daughter Maria Theresa. 
Eugene's advice, to rely on an army of 180,000 men for 
carrying the Pragmatic Sanction into effect, rather than 
on any promises made by princes, had been unheeded. 
Prussia was, on the contrary, in all its pristine vigor. 
Frederick William had been, no doubt, frequently ridiculed 
for expending such large sums upon his army, and yet not 
venturing into the field ; but the fact of the existence of 
an army was undeniable, and that it was in point of dis- 
cipline second to none, was equally so. Prussia's jDrovinces 
were flourishing, its revenues proportionably large, the 
state was encumbered by no national debt, and there were 
nearly nine millions of thalers in the royal exchequer. 
With such resources at command, a powerful, manly spirit 
might look fortune in the face, and venture in search of 
fame and greatness. 

Austria had been for centuries playing a very double 
game as regarded Prussia. We have seen the emperor 
acknowledging its claims to Jiilick and Berg, and at the 
same time favoring those of her rivals. Frederick might 
have now supported his claims by force of arms ; but he 
saw the extent of the danger he incurred, in arousing the 
hostility of so many competitors, and his being necessarily 
obliged to leave his kingdom comparatively unprotected, 
from concentrating his forces at a point so distant. He 
therefore preferred urging other claims, manifestly just, 
attended with less danger, and of more solid advantage to 
the state. Several principalities in Silesia had at different 
periods become the property of his ancestors by inherit- 
ance, but had been unjustly withheld from them by Austria. 
Such were Jagerndorif, Liegnitz, Brieg, and Wohlau. This 
circumstance had led to many former quarrels. Under 
the government of the Great Elector, when Austria stood 
in need of his aid against the Turks, a species of arrange- 



OPENING OF THE SILESIAN WAE. HI 

ment had been entered into, to the effect that, instead of 
the above principalities, others, known as the Schwie- 
busian district, but of less extent, should be ceded to 
Prussia ; but Austria succeeded at the same time in extract- 
ing (by means of the most wily representations) a prom- 
ise from the son of the great Elector, that these domin- 
ions should be restored to Austria on his accession. On 
the latter (afterwards King Frederick I.) coming to the 
throne, he informed his ministers of the promise he had 
given, and exposed the duplicity of the Austrian diplomacy. 
He was compelled, however, to keep his promise, but did 
so with the protest, that he left it in the hands of his 
successors to prosecute their just claims. " If God and 
our necessities ordain it so, we must be content; but 
should God dispose it otherwise, then my successors will 
know what it will be their duty to do." 

Frederick was well aware of what it was his duty to 
do. That undefined feeling, which impelled the youthful 
monarch to glorious deeds, had now found a worthy 
direction : he therefore resolved to embrace the favorable 
opportunity that now presented itself for regaining by 
his might, that which he felt to be his inalienable right. 

Frederick did not require much time to put his military 
operations on a proper footing. His plan was communi- 
cated to but few confidants. The unusual activity which 
his dispositions required, the marching of troops, the 
movements of the artillery, the erection of magazines, all 
announced that something important was going forward. 
All was w^onder and curiosity; tlie most contradictory 
rumors were in circulation ; the diplomatists despatched 
and received couriers without being able to obtain any dis- 
tinct information as to the king's designs. The latter had 
so arranged the marches of the troops, as to appear desir- 
ous of attacking JUlick and Berg, rather than Silesia. He 
was much amused with the false impressions which were 
rife amongst the public. " Write to me all the comical 
things that are said, thought, and done, (he says in a 
letter written by him from Ruppin to Jordan.) Berlia 



112 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

shall look like Madame Bellona in labor, and I trust that 
a pretty babe will see the light ; and that I, by some bold 
and successful stroke, shall win the confidence of the 
public. I shall then be in one of the happiest periods of 
my life, and perhaps lay the foundation for future fame." 

It could not, however, long remain a secret that the 
Prussian troops were being concentrated on the Silesian 
frontier. The Austrian court Avas informed of its danger 
through its ambassador in Berlin ; but the cabinet council 
of Maria Theresa replied, that it neither could nor .would 
credit such things. A second ambassador, Baron Botta, 
was sent, notwithstanding, from Vienna to Berlin, to 
observe the motions of Prussia more closely. He saw 
through Frederick's plan clearly enough. On his being 
presented to Frederick, he took occasion to remark im- 
pressively on the bad state of the Silesian roads, through 
which he had just passed, and which were then rendered 
almost impassable by the floods. Frederick saw his 
object; but not desiring to give any further explanation, 
drily replied, that the worst thing that could happen to a 
person on such roads, was to be dirtied by the mud. 

In December everything was ready for opening the 
campaign. The design of occupying Silesia had ceased to 
be a secret. Frederick afterwards sent an ambassador, 
Count Gotter, to Vienna, to advocate his claims to Silesia 
and propose conditions. Before setting out for his army 
he informed Botta of his intentions. " Sire," said the latter 
"you will hurry Austria and yourself into perdition." 
Frederick replied that it would be for Maria Theresa to 
accept of his proposals. After a momentary pause, Botta 
remarked to Frederick, in an ironical tone : " Sire, your 
troops are, unquestionably, very fine-looking men — much 
finer looking than ours ; but ours have stood fire before 
now. Weigh well, therefore, I beseech you, the step you 
are about to take." The king, becoming impatient, replied 
sharply : " You seem to approve of the appearance of my 
troops : you will soon have an opportunity of judging of 
their conduct ! " All further representations on the part 



OPENING OF THE SILESIAN WAR. 113 

of the ambassador were met by Frederick with the remark 
that it was now too late, as he had already passed the 
Rubicon. 

Before Frederick's departure for the seat of war, he 
summoned the general officers of his army once more into 
his presence, and bade them farewell in the following 
terms : " Prussians, I have ventured on the present war 
with no other allies to sustain me than your gallantry and 
devotion. My cause is just — and I rely on fate to aid me 
in my enterprise. Be ever mindful of that high renown 
which your ancestors have achieved on the battle-fields 
of Warsaw and Fehrbellin under the Great Elector. You 
are the arbiters of your own destiny : honors and re- 
wards await the execution of glorious deeds. But there is 
little need of my exhorting you to the pursuit of that 
which is ever present to your thoughts, the one object 
worthy of your toils — Glory. We shall have for adver- 
saries troops that have already attained the highest re- 
nown under Prince Eugene. This prince is, certainly, 
now no more ; but our glory, in the event of victory, will 
not be the less, as we have ventured to cope with soldiers 
so famed. Fare you well. Start for your different posts. 
I shall follow without loss of time to the theatre of that 
fame which awaits us." 

On the 13th of December there was a grand masquerade 
in the royal palace. Whilst the violins and the trumpets 
v/ere challenging to the dance, and the motley maskers 
moving to and fro through the saloons, preparations were 
silently making for the departure of the king. He stole un- 
observed from the capital, and hastened towards the Siles- 
ian frontiers. On the 14th he arrived in Crossen which is 
situated on the borders of Silesia. On the same day the 
belfry of the principal church in Crossen gave Avay, a 
circumstance which was regarded by the king's troops as 
a bad omen and portending future disasters ; but Frederick 
had sufficient tact to turn the circumstance to a good 
account. He told his men to be of good cheer ; for the 
lofty should be humbled, as they saw in the case of the 
8 



114 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

bell. Austria was, of course, as compared with Prussia, 
the lofty, and by a simile so apt he revived the courage 
of such as had begun to despond. 

On the 16th of December Frederick set foot for the 
first time on Silesian soil. He was here met by two 
deputies, who had been sent by the Protestant inhabitants 
of the fortified city of Glogau to entreat liim to graciously 
abstain from attacking the city on the side on which the 
Protestant church stood. This church lay outside the 
line of fortifications ; and the commandant of the town, 
Count Wallis, had resolved on burning it down, (he had 
already committed all the other buildings to the flames,) 
with a view to prevent it from forming a basis for 
Frederick's operations. Frederick had ordered his coach- 
man to halt, on the approach of the two deputies " You 
are the first Silesians," said he, addressing them, " who 
have ever asked a favor at my hands, and it shall there- 
fore be granted you." A messenger was immediately 
dispatched to Count Wallis, with the assurance that 
Frederick would abstain from attacking the town from 
the side alluded to, and the church was accordingly spared. 

The Prussian arms had as yet encountered no opposition ; 
the troops, on whom the defence of the land devolved, 
were hardly numerous enough to garrison the principal 
fortified towns. No considerable reinforcements could 
arrive within so short a time from Austria. The couriers 
and messengers, perpetually dispatched by the govern- 
ment of Breslau to Vennia, imploring aid with increased 
urgency as the danger became more imminent, could eft'ect 
nothing. The final resolutions issued by the cabinet in 
Vienna to the government officers in Breslau, consisted 
in a recommendation to spare themselves the expenses of 
the couriers, and not to give way to such inordinate 
apprehensions. 

Thus no more considerable impediments opposed the 
invasion and conquest of Silesia, than the badness of the 
weather and the wretched state of the roads, of which the 
Marquis of Botha had drawn, in truth, no very exaggerated 



OPENING OF THE SILESIAN WAR. ll§ 

picture. But the troops retained tlieir ardor, and 
Frederick did not neglect to l^eep this spirit alive by the 
distribution of manifold rewards. Manifestos, addressed 
to the inhabitants of Silesia, were published, confirming 
the inhabitants in their property, rights, and privileges, 
promising the strictest discipline on the part of the 
invading army, but declaring it to be the intention of the 
king to maintain his rights by force against the claims of 
any third party. These declarations, and the admirable 
conduct of the troops, and perhaps, more than all, the 
hopes of the Protestant inhabitants of Silesia, who 
considered Frederick in many respects as their deliverer, 
gained amongst the people many friends to the Prussian* 
cause. The answering protestations of the Austrian 
government were, on the other hand, but little heeded, if 
not totally disregarded. 

It was certainly at first rather difficult for the Silesians 
to know how to act between the fealty they had so long 
maintained towards the Austrian government, and that 
which was now demanded from them by their new masters. 
One mode of escape from this dilemma is worth mentioning. 
In Gruneberg (the first considerable toivn in Silesia 
assailed by the Prussian arms) the gates were found closed. 
An officer was immediately dispatched to the burgomaster 
to demand in the king's name the surrender of the town ; the 
messenger was conducted to the town-hall, where the 
burgomaster and the council were assembled in their 
civic robes. The officer demanded the keys of the city 
gates. The burgomaster begged to be particularly ex- 
cused : he could not and dare not give the keys. The 
officer threatened to burst open the gates ; and explained, 
that in the event of the town not accepting the gracious 
offer of the king, ulterior measures would be resorted to, 
of which it might afterwards have reason to repent. The 
burgomaster shrugged his shoulders. " There are the 
keys upon the table," said he ; " but I will not give them 
to you on any account. If you are inclined to take them, 
I certainly cannot prevent you." The officer smiled, tool^ 



IIQ FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

the keys, and opened the gates. On the arrival of the 
troops within the walls, the Prussian general notified to the 
burgomaster, that he was now, according to the custom 
of war, at liberty to take back the keys. The burgo- 
master refused to comply. " I have not given away the 
keys," said he, " and I -will consequently not send for 
them, nor take them. But if the general be kind enough 
to replace them, or have them replaced on the spot from 
whence they were taken, I shall certainly not object." 
The general mentioned the circumstance to the king, 
much to the amusement of the latter, w^ho ordered that 
the keys should be carried back to the town-hall by a 
detachment of soldiers, with bands playing and banners 
streaming. 

The first fortified town, the garrison of which checked 
the progress of the Prussians, Avas Glogau. The fortifi- 
cations were not in particularly good condition, but the 
commander had made every disposition, which was pos- 
sible within the time, for its defence. Frederick, in order 
to be enabled to continue his march, and in particular, as 
the unfavorable season of the year rendered a regular 
siege impracticable, left a detachment of his army behind, 
for the investment of the town, and then pushed on for 
Breslau. 

Breslau enjoyed, at this period, free, almost republican 
institutions : it had been even relieved from the presence of 
a garrison. As an Austrian corps was about to enter, the 
citizens became turbulent ; and the disorder being still 
further heightened by the proposition to burn down the 
suburbs, the inhabitants resolved on defending the ram- 
parts themselves ; but the Prussians had got possession of 
the suburbs, and assaulted the town much sooner than 
had been expected. The citizens Avere insufficiently pro- 
vided with ammunition and provisions ; Avhile the trenches 
being frozen over, exposed the town to be stormed ; and 
in that event it was feared that if taken it would be 
handed over to the mercy of the soldiers. The besieged 
were therefore not indisposed to negotiate ; and the prop- 



OPENING OF THE SILESIAN WAR. 117 

ositions for an arrangement were hurried to a precipitate 
conclusion by the violence of the Protestant section of the 
inhabitants, who, at the instigation of a fanatical shoe- 
maker, pressed the senate to come to a speedy decision. 
Frederick granted the town neutrality ; it was obliged to 
open its gates, but was not required to maintain a garrison. 
No provision had, however, been made in this capitulation 
with respect to the Austrian directory: Frederick, on 
entering the town, immediately dismissed all its mem- 
bers. 

On the 7th of January, 1741, Frederick made a solemn 
entry into Breslau. The procession was opened by the 
royal carriages and mules, the latter decorated with cym- 
bals and blue saddle-cloths, ornamented with gold-fringe 
and eagles in embroidery. Next came a body of gens- 
d'armes, and after these the royal state-coach, lined with 
yellow velvet, and containing a magnificent blue velvet 
mantle, trimmed with ermine, as the symbol of royalty. 
After the coach came the princes, margraves, and counts of 
Frederick's army ; and, finally, the king himself, sur- 
rounded by a small staff, and ushered in by the town- 
mayor. The crowd was unusually great, and the king 
most graciously acknowledged the salutations wath which 
he was on all sides received. The deputies of the council 
and the nobility were invited to the royal table. After 
dinner, Frederick rode through the town. On arriving 
at a splendid palace erected by the Jesuits, he observed, 
that he was not much surprised at the Emperor being in 
want of money, as he permitted the clergy to spend such 
vast sums in this manner. 

Two days afterwards a large ball was given, which 
Frederick opened with a lady belonging to one of the 
highest families in Silesia. But he soon disappeared from 
the groups of dancers, and hastened, without loss of time, 
to his troops, who had already advanced considerably 
further. Ohlau and Namslau were speedily captured ; 
Brieg, a fortress, was, like Glogau, invested ; Ottmachau, 
in Upper Silesia, was taken. Neisse, the most consider- 



118 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

able fortress in Silesia, was now the only important point 
which Avas not in the hands of the Pi:ussians : the main 
strength of the royal army was accordingly concentrated 
here for its reduction. 

These rapid successes, the conquest of a fertile land, 
almost without a blow, raised Frederick's spirits to the 
highest pitch, and appeared to promise a glorious future. 
His letters to Jordan, of this period, are instinct with 
singular gaiety and humor ; and, indeed, his whole cor- 
respondence with Jordan, which extends over the period 
of the first Silesian war, is remarkable for more easy 
grace than that of any other period. He everywhere 
breathes forth the tenderest sensibility; not, however, 
without occasionally a touch of satire, at the pacific 
virtues of his friend. From Ottmachau he dispatched the 
following humorous epistle. 

" My dear Mr. Jordan, my sweet Mr. Jordan, my mild 
Mr. Jordan, my good, amiable, peace-loving, most philan- 
thropic Mr. Jordan ! I have to announce for your satisfac- 
tion, that Silesia may be regarded as conquered, and that 
Neisse is already bombarded ! I wish to prepare you for 
mighty projects, and to announce the greatest success to 
which fortune's womb has ever given birth. Let this 
satisfy you for the present. Be my Cicero in defending 
my acts : I will be your C^sar in their execution. Fare 
thee well ; thou art thyself best aware of the hearty love 
which I, thy true friend, bear thee." 

A few days afterwards he again addressed him, as 
follows : " I have the honor to announce to your philan- 
thropy, that we are making the most Christian-like ar- 
rangements to bombard Neisse ; and that, in the event of 
the town not surrendering of its own accord, we shall find 
ourselves under the necessity of battering it to the ground. 
On the whole, we have been as successful as possible, and 
you will soon hear nothing further from us ; for in ten 
days everything will be over, and in about fourteen I 
shall have the pleasure of seeing you again." The con- 
clusion of this letter is as follows : " Farewell, Mr. Coun- 



OPENING OF THE SILESIAN WAR. ng 

cillor ; amuse yourself with Horace, study Pausanias, and 
raise your spirits with Anacreon : as regards me, I have 
nothing further to amuse me than loopholes, hurdles, 
and casemates. Indeed, I pray God to grant me soon 
some more pleasing and peaceful occupation ; and you 
health, happiness, and everything your heart desires." 

The conquest of Neisse did not, however, prove so easy 
of execution ; the fortress withstood the bombardment, 
and all attempts at storming were baffled by the judicious 
arrangements of the commandant; the outworks were 
put in good condition ; the environs, with all their fine 
buildings, burnt down ; the frozen trenches were every 
morning freed from the ice; and the ramparts, being 
drenched with water, speedily presented the appearance 
of an inaccessible wall of glass. As the season of the 
year precluded a regular siege, and the Prussian troops 
were exhausted by the severity of their winter-marches, 
Frederick was compelled to abandon the undertaking : 
but the remaining portions of his army had simulta- 
neously pushed on through the whole of Upper Silesia, as 
far as Jablunke, on the frontiers of Hungary. The Aus- 
trian troops, arriving too late to defend the land, had 
retired upon Moravia, being too weak to offer any effectual 
resistance. The Prussians had therefore time in their 
winter-quarters to recover, in some degree, from their 
exhaustion. On the 26th of January Frederick had 
already returned to Berlin. 



120 FREDERICK THE GREAT, 



CHAPTER XV. 

CAMPAIGX OF THE YEAR 1741. 

With the rapidity of lightning the tidings spread 
through Europe of the wholly unexpected occupation of 
Silesia. Nothing could equal the amazement which the 
daring of the young sovereign, who had ventured with 
his insignificant resources, to enter the lists against the 
might of Austria, everywhere excited : by some his con- 
duct was regarded as imprudent, by others, pronounced 
to be actual insanity. In the opinion of the English am- 
bassador at Vienna, Frederick deserved to be declared 
under the ban. The most obtuse could indeed perceive 
that the peace of Europe, which had been but lately 
established, must be, by his acts, long interrupted ; for 
other powers would likewise step forward with preten- 
sions to the inheritance of Charles VI., and pay but little 
respect to the provisions of the Pragmatic Sanction. As 
a proof of this, the Elector, Charles Albert, of Bavaria, 
who had never recognized the Sanction, already laid 
claim to the vacant imperial throne : he was, however, 
too weak to enforce his pretensions with anything like a 
prospect of success. Greater dangers were to be appre- 
hended from France, as it was easy to foresee that this 
power would not neglect an opportunity so favorable for 
renewing its inveterate hostility to Austria. 

Meanwhile, the demands and propositions ot Frederick 
were conveyed by Count Gotter to the cabinet of Vienna. 
He made an offer of Frederick's friendship, army, and aid 
for the protection of the Emperor's daughter, and also 
his vote for the election of her husband, Duke Francis of 




^»^'■X^<^^^>\'^\.• 



MARIA THERESA 
Empress of Austria. 



CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR 1741. 121 

Lorraine, as Emperor ; but he demanded, in return, the 
whole of Silesia for his master. Such a proposition met 
with no very favorable reception: to part with one of 
Austria's best provinces for such questionable advantages 
seemed but too irrational. The chjimberlains at Vienna 
tauntingly remarked, that it was not seemly that a prince, 
whose office it was, as grand-marshal of the empire, to 
present the Emperor with the wash-hand-basin, should 
attempt to dictate terms to the Emperor's daughter. The 
negotiations were not, however, wholly broken off ; it 
seems probable that it never was Frederick's intention to 
insist on the cession of the whole of Silesia, for the further 
he advanced the more he yielded in his demands ; he 
soon, in fact, claimed less than his just right ; but all 
his overtures were disregarded. England used its best 
endeavors to procure the compliance of Austria ; but 
Maria Tlieresa and her ministers would agree to no 
concession as long as Frederick occupied any portion of 
Silesia. If he would consent to evacuate the land, forgive- 
ness and immunity for the past were offered him; the 
negotiations terminated without producing any sat- 
isfactory result. Frederick had nominated thirty chap- 
lains to provide for the spiritual wants of the Protestant 
inhabitants of Silesia : this step awakened the jealousy of 
the Pope, who appealed to the Catholic powers of Europe 
for protection against the heretic " Margrave of Brand- 
enburg." Frederick published a declaration in reply, in 
which he promised to protect every one within his states, 
and in particular in Silesia, be his creed what it might. 
This tended to pacify men's minds, and the Pope's appeal 
was disregarded. Frederick succeeded also in winning 
over the Russian court to his views ; and even France 
expressed itself in friendly terms towards him. England 
(Hanover) alone, and Saxony allied themselves with 
Austria ; but both these states were unprepared for war, 
and a corps of observation, which was stationed on their 
frontiers, under the command of the old Prince of Dessau, 
deterred them from taking any active measures. 



122 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

Towards the end of February the Austrian army was 
concentrated in Moravia, under the command of Field- 
marshal Count Xeipperg, and advanced on Silesi^, a de- 
tachment being sent to cover the province of Glatz. Prej)- 
arations Avere now commenced for a decisive struggle. 

Frederick had already arrived in Silesia, and his first 
object was to inspect the quarters where his tr6ops were 
lodged, and procure further information as to the nature 
of the land itself. On the 27th of February he visited 
the piquets, which were posted on the ridge of hills that 
separate Silesia from the province of Glatz. He was 
attended by an inconsiderable escort, and his want of 
caution had nigh cost him dear. Small bodies of Aus- 
trian hussars had very frequently passed the Prussian 
posts, and carried on a system of predatory attacks. 
They had learned, through spies, the presence of the king 
in the neighborhood, and could they only succeed, by a 
bold stroke, in getting possession of his j)erson, the war 
must have terminated at its very outset. But the party 
sent on this service missed the object of their search, and 
came in contact with a body of Prussian dragoons. The 
latter suffered a considerable loss; but the Austrians 
were obliged to return without having effected the object 
of their mission. Frederick had heard the firing, and 
quickly hastened to the relief of his dragoons, with such 
troops as he could muster at the instant, but arrived too 
late to render any service. 

On the 9th of March the fortress of Glogau fell beneath 
a rapid and well-organized assault, led on by Prince 
Leopold of Dessau. The garrison were made prisoners of 
war. The fortifications were immediately put in the best 
possible state of defence. 

The two remaining fortresses, which were still in the 
hands of the Austrians, became now the subject of Fred- 
erick's next operations. lie proceeded to the camp in 
Tipper Silesia, where General Schwerin — the most experi- 
enced general in the Prussian army, and one ^^'ho hda 
served under Eugene and Marlborough in the Xetherland^ 



CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR 1741. 123 

— was in command. At Jagerndorf, ten leagues distant 
from Neisse, he learned, for the first time, from some 
deserters, that the main body of the Austrian army was 
close at hand, under the command of Xeipperg, and in- 
tended to attempt the relief of Neisse. Orders were im- 
mediately given to concentrate the scattered detachments, 
and the Upper Silesian regiments were retired to Jagern- 
dorf. A junction with the Lower Silesian detachment 
was to be effected at the river Neisse. Simultaneously, 
and at no very considerable distance, the Austrian army 
put itself in motion ; it reached Xeisse before the Prus- 
sians, and actually prevented Frederick from being able 
to join the Lower Silesian corps at the above point. Fred- 
erick was, therefore, compelled to advance further north- 
wards, in order to command the nearest point for crossing 
the stream ; but the Austrians were again in motion in a 
similar direction on his left, and deserters informed him 
that Ohlau was the point aimed at, as the Prussian cannon, 
which were laid up there, promised a considerable booty. 
Frederick's situation had now become very critical ; he 
was cut off from all connection with the main body of his 
army ; his communication with his own states was inter- 
cepted, and important points in Silesia were either in 
possession of the enemy or in danger. To increase his 
embarrassment, a heavy fall of snow rendered it impossible 
to observe the enemy's motions, or make the necessary 
dispositions. But the Austrians were equally unaware of 
the proximity of the Prussians. 

Frederick had now no other alternative than to come, 
as soon as possible, to an engagement — one in which the 
discipline of the Prussian army and the strategic studies 
of its leaders were to be, for the first time, brought into 
serious operation, and the results of which must prove 
of the utmost importance as regarded the whole future 
character of the war. Fortune favored the opening ; the 
sun rose brightly on the 10th of April; the ground, 
although covered with snow, presented, at least, no further 
impediments. The Prussian troops advanced in readiness 



;^24 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

for battle in the same direction as the Austrians, who were 
moving on before them. Information was obtained from 
some prisoners, that the centre of the Austrian army lay 
encamped in the village of Mollwitz, not far from Brieg. 
MoUwitz was reached by noon without the Austrians 
being aware of the Prussians' approach. The Prussian 
army here formed in order of battle, awaiting the enemy's 
advance from the village. It had been possible to have 
taken the enemy by surprise ; but the old system was 
adhered to, its absurdity not having been, as yet, .suf- 
ficiently established. The Austrians advanced nito the 
field under a raking fire from the Prussian guns ; the 
left wing of the admirable Austrian cavalry was the first 
to arrive, under the command of General Romer. This 
officer, perceiving the danger of hesitation, and his regi- 
ments demanding to be led on out of the showei'S of shot 
to Avhich they Avere exposed, made a sudden charge on 
the Prussians' right wing, but being rather impeded, and 
in a somewhat unfavorable position, was obliged to give 
way, and falling back upon the lines of infantry, carried 
the Austrians Avith it. The confusion consequent on this 
sudden assault was great. Frederick, who commanded 
the left wing in person, in endeavoring to rally the 
fugitives, was borne along in the retirade. He succeeded, 
at length, in collecting a few scattered squadrons : Avith 
these, and shouting, "Brothers! Prussia's . honor, your 
monarch's life ! " he charged the enemy's lines. But this 
small body of men was speedily overpowered, and a gen- 
eral rout ensued, it being impossible to recognize friends 

or foes. . t:^- I.:. 

The battle now seemed lost : Frederick rode up to h leld- 
marshal Schwerin, Avho was in command of the left Aving, 
and was by him impressively reminded of the great 
danger which existed in that quarter, of their being cut 
off from the remaining portions of the army, although, at 
present, the battle was by no means decided. « If," said 
Schwerin, "your majesty will consent to leave the battle- 
field, and hasten to the opposite bank of the river Oder, 



CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR 1741. 125 

and bring up the considerable corps, with which every 
effort has been made to form a junction, it will not fail to 
be of the utmost importance ; I, in the mean time, will 
use my utmost efforts for the success of the battle." 
Frederick was, at first, undecided ; but the Austrians 
pressed forward anew, and he at length yielded, with a 
heavy heart, to the advice of his experienced general. 

In order to pass the Oder, Frederick was obliged to 
take the road to the distant town of Oppeln, where he 
conceived that one of his regiments must have been 
stationed. He proceeded with a very trifling escort, — ^a 
body of gendarmes following him in the rear ; but he rode 
so hard that the latter could not keep pace with him. In 
the middle of the night he arrived, ^^dth his small suite, 
at the gates of 0]3peln, which were found shut. On the 
challenge of the sentry, the answer was given, " a Prus- 
sian courier ; " but the gates still remained closed. The 
matter now assuming a serious aspect, Frederick com- 
manded some of his attendants to dismount, and inquire 
why the gates were not opened. This demand was 
replied to by several musket-sliots ' f rom the loopholes, 
as the town was held by a troop of Austrian hus- 
sars. The Prussians speedily turned their horses' heads, 
and retraced their steps Avith the utmost haste. At 
break of day, Frederick had arrived at Lowen, a small 
town situated between Mollwitz and Oppeln. Here he 
found the gendarmes who had followed him the preceding 
evening, and also an adjutant with news of the success- 
ful issue of the battle. He immediately returned to the 
field, having ridden seventeen leagues without dismount- 
ing. The efficiency and precision, as well as the courage 
and unflinching resolution of his infantry, as soon as it 
was possible to bring their strength into play, had wrung 
the victory from the Austrians. Keipperg had retired, 
with considerable loss, in the direction of Xeisse. A 
want of unanimity in .counsel, and the approach of night, 
prevented the victors from taking full advantage of their 
success. 



126 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

Frederick has subsequently, when writing the history 
of his own times, severely criticised his first military 
operations, and particularizes the numerous faults com- 
mitted in the battle of Mollwitz. But he remarks, in 
conclusion, that having gravely considered the various 
faults committed by him, he would seek to avoid them in 
future, as indeed he did. 

As an immediate result of this victory the Prussians 
were enabled to conduct the siege of Brieg without fear 
of interruption. The garrison capitulated after a short 
resistance. A camp was then formed at Streheln, thus 
covering the whole of Lower Silesia. Frederick employed 
the two months, which he here passed, in reinforcing his 
army, and improving the discipline and efficiency of his 
cavalry. 

The importance of the victory did not consist so much 
in the actual success, as in its moral influence upon the 
general character of Frederick's troops. It was now ap- 
parent that the soldiers who had been bred in the school 
of Prince Eugene were not invincible, and that the 
Prussian army, which had been hitherto efficient only on 
parade, was equally good under an enemy's fire. The 
belief was even entertained that the colossal empire of 
Austria would soon fall to pieces, and the Prussian state 
seemed, like a new constellation, to ascend in the political 
horizon. In truth, Frederick obtained considerable 
weight in the council of Europe, through the blow he 
had struck. Ambassadors hastened to his camp from 
England, France, Spain, Sweden, Russia, Denmark, Bava- 
ria, Saxony, and Austria, and here formed a species of 
political congress. France was the most anxious to court 
the Prussian king's favor, as England had allied itself 
with Austria. A treaty had been already concluded 
between France and Bavaria, according to which France 
promised to support the Elector, Charles Albert, in his 
claims upon Austria and to the imperial crown : it was 
now proposed to Frederick, that he should take part in 
this alliance, on his being secured in the possession of 



CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR 1741. 127 

Lo\yer Silesia. Frederick hesitated to assent, hoping, 
perhaps, that Austria, after its late defeat, would be 
more inclined to come to terms. But tliese hopes proved 
visionary : a poAverful alliance for the protection of 
Austrian interests seeming to be in train. The Hanover- 
ian troops, which had remained hitherto inactive, were 
now reinforced by Danish and Hessian regiments in 
English pay: Saxony likewise prepared to unite its forces 
with the former ; and Russian troops were being concen- 
trated in Liefland. Any furtlier hesitation appeared now 
fraught with danger, and Frederick accordingly, on the 
5th of July, joined the Xymphenburg league. 

Frederick's connection with France was kept a secret 
until the military resources of the latter were fully de- 
veloped, and its army fit for action. The intelligence of 
this league came upon the Austrian cabinet completely 
by surprise ; for they could not bring themselves to 
believe that Frederick possessed anything like diplomatic 
talent. The English ambassador at Vienna, wiio was 
present at the ministerial council, reported, that the 
ministers, on receipt of the news of this alliance, sank 
back in their chairs as if they had been paralyzed. It 
soon became known that two French corps had already 
entered Germany, — the one in the south, for the support 
of the Elector of Bavaria, the other in the north, to hold 
England in check, — and to crown all, little reliance could 
be placed in Russian aid, as that power had become 
suddenly involved in a war with Sweden. This state of 
things decided Maria Theresa, who had hitherto refused 
all compliance with Frederick's demands, to have recoui^se 
to negotiation. The English ambassador was sent from 
Vienna to Frederick's camp, to solicit him to accept, in 
lieu of all his claims on Silesia, two millions of florins and 
the province of Geldern. 

Frederick, in the history of his OA\ai times, describes 
the progress of these negotiations with much humor. The 
English ambassador, a perfect enthusiast in favor of Maria 
Theresa, whose personal charms and powers of fascination 



ll'S FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

were unquestionably great, made his insignificant offer in 
a tone of considerable bombast, and gave it as his opin- 
ion, that the king should congratulate himself on making 
such admirable terms. But Frederick felt little sympatliy 
with the romantic feelings of the ambassador, the singu- 
larity of whose manner induced him to reply in a similar 
strain. His answering speech surpassed that of his Eng- 
lish rival in point of ridiculous hauteur. He inquired 
how he, as king, after consenting to such ignominious 
terms, could venture to stand in the presence of his 
army ! and how should he exc^.use himself for delivering 
up his new subjects, the Protestants of Silesia, again to 
Catholic tyranny ! "Were I," continued he, in an elev- 
ated tone, " capable of so mean, so flishonorable a com- 
promise, the graves of my forefathers would yaAvn before 
my eyes, and as they ascended from their tombs, they 
might well address me, ' I^o, thou art none of our blood ! 
What ! thou, whose duty it is to struggle for those rights 
which thou hast inherited from us, wilt thou barter them 
for gold ? Thou hast stained that honor which we have 
bequeathed thee as thy noblest patrimony! Unworthy 
of the name of prince, unworthy of the royal throne, thou 
art but a contemptible pedlar who prefers profit to fame.' " 
He concluded by stating, that he would rather see his 
army for ever buried beneath the ruins of Silesia, than 
expose himself to the stigma of an act so dishonorable. 
Then, without pursuing the discussion any further he 
took up his hat and retired into an inner chamber of his 
tent, leaving the ambassador completely stupefied, and 
obliged to return to Vienna without accomplishing the 
object of his mission. Frederick played his part so ad- 
mirably, that in the report made by the English ambas- 
sador to the cabinet in London, the effects of Frederick's 
high-sounding speech are quite apparent. 

The camp in Strehlen became not merely the sphere of 
diplomatic negotiation or military organization : the arts 
of peace, science, poetry, and music occupied Frederick 
here, as if the happy days of Rheinsberg had returned. 



CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR 1741. 129 

His letters to Jordan of this period evidence his gaiety 
and high spirits. At times he finds prose insufficient for 
his epistolary purposes, and has recourse to all the spark- 
ling imagery of poetic inspiration. As his arms prospered, 
and in proportion as he felt his growing importance in the 
political world, his wit and humor expanded. His letters 
remind us, at times, of the inimitable humor of the great 
British poet; and it must ever remain inexplicable, that, 
despite the aesthetic relations of the age, Frederick did 
not recognize in Shakesi)8are a kindred spirit. 

We have already remarked that Jordan's pacific disposi- 
tion had been frequently the subject of ironical remarks 
from Frederick. An incident occurred, subsequently 
to the battle of Mollwitz, which gave a fair opening for 
satirical banter. After the battle a call to arms was, by 
accident, beaten, where Jordan, who had been summoned 
to Frederick's camp, was stopping; Jordan no sooner 
heard the first sounds than he fled precipitately from the 
camp, and took refuge in Breslau. This act exposed him 
perpetually to the shafts of Frederick's satire, notwith- 
standing all his attempts to justify his conduct. Fred- 
erick always returned to this subject at intervals, and in 
one of the letters, which he wrote in the year following, 
makes these reflections on Jordan's courage : " Prudence," 
says the writer, " an attribute of which your gallantry 
largely partakes, is by no means the least considerable of 
your admirable qualities : 

Prudence is valor's real source and firmest hold ! 
The rest is nought but blind and senseless rage, 
By which, betrayed through animal instinct low, 
So many fools so fascinated seem, 

" You are perfectly aware that real courage consists in 
facing such dangers as our prudence points out to us to be 
inevitable or proper to be hazarded. But you are sin- 
gularly cautious and provident, and consequently never 
expose yourself at all, from which it is clear, that few 
heroes equal you in point of true valor. Your courage ia 



1P,0 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

still intact ; and as everything new surpasses the old, 
your gallantry must be really astonishing. It is as a bud 
about to unfold its leaves, — one which has never experi- 
enced either the scorching rays of tlie sun or the keen- 
ness of the northern blasts; in a word, an object as 
deserving of respect as metaphysics, or the treatises on 
the nature of fire, written by the Marchioness, — (a friend 
of Voltaire's, whose scientific pursuits Frederick frequently 
ridiculed.) You want nothing further than a white plume 
to overshadow the banks of your valor, a long sabre, spurs, 
and a somewhat louder voice, and then my hero would 
be perfect. I must really congratulate you, valiant and 
heroic Jordan ! and entreat you to cast a look, from the 
pinnacle of your fame, upon your friends, who are here 
wallowing in Bohemian mire.'' 

Meanwhile a plan was being silently matured, which 
might have been productive of the worst consequences to 
Frederick. A considerable number of Austrian and Bohe- 
mian old ladies residing in Breslau, and entertaining an 
equally marked aversion for Prussian soldiers and the 
Protestant faith, kept up a correspondence T\ith the Aus- 
trian army through the aid of monks. In collusion with 
some of the members of the Breslau common-council, they 
formed the plan of delivering the city into the hands of 
the enemy. Field-marshal Xeipperg entered into their 
views ; he resolved on seducing Frederick from his favor- 
able position bj^ means of some aggressive movements ; 
and then advancing by forced marches on Breslau. But 
Frederick discovered the plot ; he succeeded in intro- 
ducing a traitress into the political meetings, which were 
held by these ladies every evening. Through this chan- 
nel the king discovered the whole intrigue, and was 
enabled to take his measures accordingly. 

The neutrality of Breslau was fraught mth too much 
danger to admit of its further continuance. The resident 
foreign ambassadors were summoned to the camp in Streh- 
len, in order that they might be removed from the scene 
of action in the event uf any disorders occurring. A Prus- 



CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR 1741. 131 

sian corps, under the command of the Prince of Dessau, 
requested leave to march through the town ; the municipal 
guards were under arms to conduct them through. Whilst 
this corps was in the act of entering at one gate, another 
Prussian troop burst in unexpectedly at a second, and 
barred the entrance. The town-major remonstrated Tvdth 
the Prince of Dessau, but was advised to sheath his sword 
and return home as fast as his horse could carry him. Xo 
attempt at resistance was made, and in less than an hour, 
without one drop of blood being shed, the town was in 
the hands of the Prussians, the citizens were obliged to 
take the oaths of fealty to the Prussian sovereign, money 
was flung amongst the populace, and a general shout of 
joy rang through the streets. 

Neipperg had already begun to put his troops in motion, 
in order to cut Frederick off from Breslau. On hearing 
of the rapid occupation of the town by the Prussian troops, 
he resolved on retiring ; but took up his position with so 
much adroitness, that he covered Upper Silesia ; whilst 
Frederick, breaking up his camp, moved on Neisse, which 
was still in the hands of the Austrians. Each army kept 
the other for a time in check by their marches and coun- 
termarches ; but this petty warfare led to no decisive 
issue. 

The French and Bavarians had already advanced con- 
siderably further, and Saxony had joined the Nymphen- 
burg league, in the prospect of being recompensed for 
its services by the acquisition of Moravia. The Austrian 
cabinet was now^ necessitated to make some concessions. 
The English ambassador was a second time sent on a 
mission to Frederick. He brought with him a plan of 
Silesia, on which the cession of a considerable part of 
Lower Silesia was indicated by an ink-line. He was, 
however, informed that what at one time might be very 
acceptable, might at another be by no means so. His 
second offer of the whole of Lower Silesia and Breslau 
was likewise rejected. Austria's embarrassments daily 
increased ; Linz was already in the hands of the Bavario- 



132 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

French army ; the Viennese were already preparing for 
flight, and the court itself about to retire from the citj^ 
A simultaneous movement on Silesia was made by Fred- 
erick ; and by the capture of Oppeln he forced Xeipperg 
to retire from Neisse. 

Through the mediation of England the Austrian court 
Avas induced to acquiesce in the cession of Lower Silesia 
and Neisse, on the condition that Frederick should forth- 
with withdraw his forces. Frederick accepted of this 
proposal, although the proposition did not meet his full 
approbation. But he wished to avoid enfeebling Austria 
to such an extent as to aggrandize France, and thereby 
convert an independent ally into a dependent slave. On 
the 9th of October a private interview took j^lace between 
Frederick and Marshal Neipperg, to which a few trusty 
officers and the English ambassador were admitted. It 
was here arranged that Xeisse should, in fourteen days, 
be nominally invested ; that the garrison should be with- 
drawn, and the fortress handed over to Frederick ; that 
one portion of the Prussian troops should take up their 
winter-quarters in Upper Silesia, and that, merely for 
appearance sake, a few desultory attacks should be made 
from time to time ; that the treaty should be fully dra^vn 
up and ratified Avithin the year, but that these preliminary 
stipulations should remain an inviolable secret, — a pre- 
caution which Frederick's position, as regarded his allies, 
rendered necessary. He expressed the liveliest sympathy 
for Maria Theresa, and even hinted that he might be pos- 
sibly induced to take up her cause. 

In consequence of this arrangement XeiiDperg retired 
with his army to Moravia. Neisse surrendered after a 
twelve days' siege ; the Austrian garrison had actually 
not been withdraAvn before the Prussian engineers were 
busy drawing up the plans for the new defences. One 
section of the Prussian army now encamped in Upper 
Silesia, another moved on Bohemia, and some regiments 
were detached to blockade Glatz. 

On the 4th of November Frederick arrived in Breslau, 



CAJVIPAIGN OF THE YEAR 1741. 133 

whither the several princes and estates of the dukedom 
or Lower Silesia had been summoned to pay their homage. 
The solemn entry of the king was the first of a series of 
festivities in which the higher and lower classes of the 
town joyfully took part. The populace were highly grati- 
fied by the present of a roasted ox, tricked out with gar- 
lands and stuffed with poultry and game. The 7th of 
November was appointed for the doing homage. An im- 
mense procession moved through the streets to the council- 
house, where the ceremony was to take place in the prince's 
saloon. The town had not seen any of its regents within 
its walls for centuries ; the arrangements for the act of 
homage were, consequently, on such a scale as the short- 
ness of the time permitted. An old imperial throne was 
repaired and put in requisition for the ceremony. The 
Austrian double-headed eagle embroidered thereon, was 
deprived of one of its heads, and thereby converted into 
the Prussian emblem, and Frederick's initials fastened 
upon its breast. Frederick, clad in a simple military uni- 
form, ascended his throne in the midst of- a brilliant as- 
sembly. The marshal had forgotten the imperial sword 
of state, which should have been held at the king's side, 
but Frederick repaired this omission by drawing from its 
scabbard the sword with which he had conquered Silesia, 
and presented it to the marshal. An address having been 
read to the assembly, they took the oaths of fealty, and 
kissed the hilt of Frederick's sword. " Long live the King 
of Prussia, our sovereign duke ! " was echoed from all 
sides, and this shout concluded the ceremony. The town 
was brilliantly illuminated in the evening. Frederick re- 
mitted the usual coronation present of one hundred thou- 
sand thalers, and made provision for the relief of the 
indigent inhabitants. He testified his gracious feelings 
by the conferment of dignities and decorations. From 
Breslau he returned in November to Berlin. 



134 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR 1742. 

DuKixG the autumn of 1742 the operations of the 
Bavario- French army were attended with the most unin- 
terrupted success, and a Saxon corps was advancing 
simultaneously upon Bohemia. By a bold decisive move- 
ment Charles Albert might have made himself master of 
Vienna. But the Bohemian crown was the real object 
of his ambition ; and the French, in order to prevent 
Bavaria from becoming too powerful, confirmed him in 
his resolution of setting out for Bohemia, as this would 
necessarily awaken the jealousy of his Saxon allies. The 
hostile army was thus drawn off from its march of con- 
quest, and the dangers which so imminently impended 
over the head of Maria Theresa were once more averted. 
Charles Albert, with his irresistible host, seized the capi- 
tal of Bohemia, but, intoxicated with the splendor of 
coronation festivities, allowed the favorable moment for 
pushing on his arms to pass by. From Prague he pro- 
ceeded to Frankfort-on-the-Main, in order to urge his 
claims to the imperial cro^\Ti, the dearest object of his 
ambition. This, the choicest wish of his heart, was like- 
wise accomplished. On the 24th of January, 1742, he 
was proclaimed Emperor of Germany, under the title of 
Charles the Seventh, — but, whilst in pursuit of the sem- 
blance of power, he allow^ed the reality to fall from his 
hands. 

The cause of Maria Theresa had, in the mean time, 
found enthusiastic, almost fanatical supporters in the 



CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR 1742. 135 

heart of her empire. The Hungarians, often as they had 
been obliged to submit to the harsh rule of her ancestors, 
were, notwithstanding, inspired Avith the most ardent 
feelings of attachment for their young and lovely sover- 
eign. " Our swords and lives for our Kixg, Maria 
Theresa," was the cry of the magnates of Hungary, as 
their youthful queen appeared before them during ^the 
diet in Presburg, clad in the time-honored robes of the 
Hungarian kings, and bearing in her arms her infant son 
Joseph : the oath was not long registered ere its fruits 
were apparent. Her army became suddenly invested 
with preternatural strength ; one section of the Franco- 
Bavarian army, which had not yet set out for Bohemia, 
was forced speedily to evacuate Austria; was pursued 
across Bavaria ; and Munich, the capital of the newly- 
created Emperor, seized. The Austrians entered Munich 
on the 12 til of February, the same day on which Charles 
had been invested with the imperial purple at Frankfort. 
The wild Hungarian hosts, thirsting for vengeance, per- 
petrated the most savage atrocities throughout Bavaria, 
and marked their path with blood. 

This change in the state of affairs rendered it necessary 
for Frederick to remodel his plans, especially as Austria, 
so far from taking any steps towards the fulfilment of the 
treaty concluded at Schnelendorf, had, in contravention 
of the direct terms of that treaty, communicated its vari- 
ous stipulations, which should have been kept secret, to 
the different cabinets of Europe. Frederick was conse- 
quently obliged to enter into the plans of the allies with 
the more energy and decision. An allied corps, stationed 
in Bohemia, was opposed by an Austrian army under 
circumstances so unfavorable for the former as to render 
an engagement hazardous. New forces must be therefore 
brought up to aid the allies ; and a diversion, by forced 
marches upon Moravia, seemed to promise considerable 
advantages. Frederick, anxious to spare his troops as 
much as possible, strove to induce Saxony to contribute / 
the principal means for such a movement j the more par- 



1G6 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

ticularly as Moravia was, according to former treaties, to 
become its portion. To effectuate this object, he pro- 
ceeded without loss of time to Dresden, liaving made but 
a short stay at Berlin, wiiere he had been present at the 
nuptials of his brother. Prince Augustus William. 

It was, however, no easy task to obtain the consent of 
Augustus the Third, (Elector of Saxony and King of 
Poland,) or, rather, tliat of his minister. Count Briihl, to 
this measure, as the Saxon monarch felt little thirst for 
military fame. Briihl entertained a natural aversion for 
Frederick, as petty spirits generally do for those whom 
thej^ feel to be their superiors : a further impediment 
consisted in the obligations which the Saxon minister 
owed to the Austrian cabinet. But Frederick was well 
skilled in the arts of diplomacy. A conference w^as held 
in the chambers of King Augustus, at which Briihl and 
some of the Saxon generals were present, and at which 
Frederick displayed considerable talent in meeting the 
objections urged. On Augustus entering, and after the 
interchange of the customary civilities, Briihl, well ac- 
quainted with the character of his master, endeavored to 
terminate the conference ; he rolled up the map of Mora- 
via, which had been made use of, and quickly laid it aside. 
Frederick, without heeding the interruption, calmly 
unrolled the chart, and endeavored to make the monarch 
comprehend the nature of the service for which his troojDS 
were required, and how deeply and immediately he w^as 
interested in the success of the measure. Augustus felt 
constrained to assent to the various arguments of the 
Prussian king. Briihl, embarrassed by the approbation 
which Frederick's remarks perpetually elicited from his 
master, in whose countenance he could plainly read signs 
of growing impatience, observed that the opera was about 
to commence. This piece of intelligence was of a nature 
by far too important to allow of Augustus continuing the 
conference. Frederick took advantage of the instant, 
and would not allow the Saxon monarch to retire until 
he liad obtained his full assent to his various plans. 



CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR 1742. 137 

Frederick now put himself at the head of the Saxon 
troops, and i^ushed through Bohemia and Moravia. In 
Olmiitz, he was joined by a section of his own army, 
which had penetrated into Moravia from Silesia. His 
first successes were not inconsiderable ; the Prussians 
burst in upon Upper Austria, and their hussars swept 
the plains, again carrying terror and dismay to the very 
heart of the capital. But Frederick, judging from his 
own men, had estimated the worth of the Saxon troops 
by a false standard, and this error was the cause of the 
failure of his measures. The want of energy or ardor, 
which the Saxons displayed, neutralized the advantages 
gained by the Prussians. Briinn was besieged, and 
Frederick demanded the necessary cannon from Augustus, 
but the latter refused compliance with this demand, 
on the ground of want of money ; he had, however, just 
given the sum of 400,000 thalers- for the purchase of a 
large green diamond, to adorn his '' Green Vault " in 
Dresden. The Austrian army now advanced in turn upon 
Moravia, and whilst Frederick was obliged to make the 
most serious preparations for its protection, the Saxon 
army displayed nothing but cowardice, disobedience, and 
perfidy. Xothing therefore remained for Frederick but 
to abandon Moravia, and fall back upon his own troops, 
who were stationed in Bohemia. The Saxon minister 
Biilow, who had followed Frederick into Moravia, begged 
leave to inquire, who now was to place the Moravian 
crown upon his master's head. Frederick replied drily, 
that crowns were generallj' obtained by cannons. 

Whilst events were proceeding in tins way a second 
Prussian corps, under the command of the Prince of Des- 
sau, had reduced the fortress of Glatz, and exacted the 
homage of the whole province. Some short time after- 
wards the states of the Upper Silesian district, on tlie 
other side of the Neisse, took the oaths of fealty to the 
king, in the presence of a commissioner. 

On the 17th of April Frederick was joined by the 
Prince of Dessau at Chrudin, in Bohemia, and pitched 



138 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

his camp here in order to recruit his soldiers. The Sax- 
ons, who had likewise left Moravia, passed through 
Bohemia, and encamped on the Saxon frontier : it was 
found impossible to induce them to form a junction with 
the French on the Moldau, by which means a considerable 
counterpoise might have been opposed to the Austrian 
power. Frederick devoted his four weeks' inactivity at 
Chrudin to the pleasures of science and art. This inter- 
val was likewise, through the mediation of England, 
employed in new negotiations with Austria. Frederick 
could clearly see the little advantage he derived from his 
allies, for he could count as little upon the ability of the 
French leaders or the Bavarian army, as on the good 
faith of the Saxons, and he even had in his hands con- 
vincing proofs of the little reliance which was to be 
placed on the sincerity of a French cabinet ; but Eng- 
land's aim in withdraw^ing Frederick from his allies was 
to be able to crush them the more easily. Frederick now 
claimed the whole of Silesia and the province of Glatz ; 
but as the Austrians conceived that they had attained 
considerable advantages, there was no hope of the nego- 
tiations being successful. 

Frederick noAV resolved to leave his cause to be decided 
by the sword. He took up a preparatory position, and 
reinforced his army by supplies dravv'n from Upper 
Silesia. The Austrians under the command of Prince 
Charles of Lorraine and Field-marshal Konigseck, evacu- 
ated Moravia and marched on Prague, intending to 
attack the Prussians, of whose real strength they had no 
idea whatsoever. At the approach of this army Fred- 
rick required the commander of the French troops. Mar- 
shal Broglio, to advance from the Moldau and effect a 
junction with him. The latter refused, on the ground of 
having no orders to that effect ; but declared his readi- 
ness to send speedy intelligence of the king's wishes to 
Paris, and he hoped that he would as speedily receive 
the necessary instructions. 

One body of the Austrian troops had already advanced 



CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR 1742. I39 

on Frederick's flank, and evidently intended to attack the 
Prussian magazines. To parry this blow, Frederick put 
himself at the head of his advanced guard, and taking up 
a favorable position, awaited the arrival of the main body 
of his army, under the command of the Prince of Dessau. 
The latter had received orders to invest the town of Czas- 
lau, but his march had been so delayed by the transport 
of the heavy artillery, that he had not got further than 
the neighboring village of Chotusitz, whilst the Austrians 
had already entered Czaslau. On the 17th of May, at 
early dawn, Frederick returned with his advanced troops 
to the main body of his army, which he had scarcely 
reached before the Austrians made their intended assault. 
The thunder of the guns opened the fight ; the Prussian 
cavalry of the right wing, under Field-marshal Budden- 
brock, took advantage of its favorable position, and dashed 
with irresistible impetuosity upon the enemy, repulsing 
the assailants ; but the frightful cloud of dust attendant 
on this attack brought confusion and disorder into the 
ranks of the Prussians, so that the charge became com- 
paratively useless. Konigseck now led on the infantry 
of the Austrian right wing against the Prussian left, 
whose position near Chotusitz was rather disadvantageous. 
The Prussian horse here distinguished itself by its intre- 
pidity and courage, but the infantry were forced to give 
way. The enemy availed themselves of this retrograde 
movement to fire the village : but this act deprived the 
victors of the advantages of their success, as the fire 
screened the enemy completely from them. Frederick 
now resolved on heading an assault in person upon the 
Austrian left wing. - He drove the left back with impe- 
tuosity on the right, and charging into the ranks of both, 
as they occupied an unfavorable position, obliged the 
whole Austrian army to fly. In this way the victory 
which brought Frederick nearer to the object of his 
ambition was obtained in a few hours of the forenoon. 

The negotiations with Austria were now renewed with 
increased ardor and Maria Theresa assented to Freder- 



140 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

ick's demands. The Prussian cabinet-minister, Count 
Podewils, and the English ambassador, Lord Hyndford, 
each provided with the necessary pov/ers, concluded the 
preliminaries of a treaty of peace, on the 11th of June, 
at Breslau, ceding to Frederick the whole of Silesia, the 
province of Glatz, and a district of Moravia, the only part 
excepted from the treaty being a portion of Upper Silesia 
of about 500 square miles in extent. He on his part stipu- 
lated to pay off a debt, which was due to England, and 
for payment of which Silesia had been pledged. Peace 
was immediately proclaimed throughout the whole of the 
king's dominions. In the camp at Kuttenberg, which 
Frederick had formed after the battle, the news was not 
made known until Frederick communicated it at a fete, to 
which the princpal officers of his army had been invited ; 
he here seized his glass, and proposed " the health of the 
Queen of Hungary, and that their reconciliation might 
be lasting." The peace was proclaimed in Berlin on the 
30th of June, by a herald, who rode through the streets, 
mounted on a horse splendidly caparisoned, and bearing 
a sceptre in his hand. 

Before returning to Berlin Frederick visited the Sile- 
sian fortresses. He was told at Glatz, that whilst the 
Prussians were besieging the place, a lady of rank had 
made a vow to present the statue of the holy Virgin in 
the Jesuits' church with a handsome robe, in the event 
of the seige being raised: this vow had not, of course, 
been fulfilled. Frederick immediately ordered a robe of 
the most costly materials to be made, and sent it to the 
Jesuits, with the remark that the holy Virgin should not 
lose through him the present which had been promised 
her. The Jesuits were politic enough to accept of the 
robe, and went in procession to thank the king for his 
gift. 

On the 12th of July Frederick arrived in Berlm, and 
was welcomed with the utmost enthusiasm. Peace was 
definitely concluded on the 28th of July, and England 
undertook to guarantee its continuance. Saxony was 



CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR 1742. 141 

included in this treaty of peace, although King Augustus 
knew so little of his own affairs that, on being informed 
by the Prussian ambassador of the victory of Chotusitz, 
he inquired if his troops had behaved well during the 
action. The news of this treaty of peace, which frustrated 
a series of well-devised schemes, was received in France 
with the greatest horror. The whole cabinet was com- 
pletely paralyzed ; some fainted away ; old Cardinal 
Fleury, who then guided the helm of state, burst into 
tears. Frederick had explained to him the motives which 
had induced him to conclude the peace. The cardinal, in 
his letter in reply, remarks in a sad tone as follows : 
^' Your majesty will now become the arbiter of Europe's 
destiny ; this is the most glorious part you could possibly 
play ! " 

But Maria Theresa had bowed with a broken heart to 
the decrees of fate ; she bewailed that the brightest jewel 
had been torn from her diadem. As often as she saw a 
Silesian, she would involuntarily burst into tears. 






142 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



TWO years' peace. 



At the conclusion of the peace of Breslau the funds of 
the Prussian exchequer had dwindled to the sum of 150,- 
000 thalers. This was one of the many reasons which 
induced Frederick to hasten the conclusion of the war. 
But the acquisition of Silesia increased his revenues to the 
amount of three millions and a half of thalers. He was 
therefore bound to apply himself with ardor to the man- 
agement and development of the resources of his kingdom ; 
for the political relations were still so involved, that 
sooner or later a war must be the result ; his utmost 
care was therefore devoted to preparations for the hour 
of need. 

The next object of Frederick's attention was the order- 
ing of the relations of his Silesian dominions. The 
peculiar rights of the newly-acquired provinces were in- 
fringed upon as little* as possible ; but such new dispo- 
sitions were made as were absolutely necessary to the 
performance by Silesia of the duties, and participations in 
the advantages enjoyed by the other states of the Prus- 
sian monarchy. The administration of this land was 
conducted separately from that of the other pro\inces ; 
the government offices were filled for the most part by 
natives ; the system of taxation which had hitherto pre- 
vailed being most oppressive, was now reformed accord- 
ing to the enlightened principles prevailing in Prussia. 
Security was given to traffic by the introduction of the 
Prussian criminal code and police. The Protestant inhabi- 



TWO YEARS' PEACE. 143 

tants were protected in the free exercise of their religious 
beliefs, without the Catholic Church being in any way 
compromised in its rights. As regards this spirit of 
religious toleration, Frederick found a w^orthy coadjutor 
in the Bishop of Breslau, Cardinal Count Sinzendorff, 
who was at the same time the highest dignitary of the 
Catholic Church in Silesia. Frederick nominated him, 
with the approbation of the pope, vicar -general and 
supreme judge in all matters spiritual affecting the Ro- 
man Catholic Church throughout the Prussian monarchy. 
Sinzendorff issued in 1742 a pastoral letter, exhorting the 
zealots of his own creed to peace and toleration, and in- 
terdicting the use of the word heretic. By this conduct 
Sinzendorff ingratiated himself in the king's favor, and 
received many high tokens of royal approbation. 

For the more complete protection of Silesia against any 
new incursion, the fortresses were repaired, and new 
defences added. I^eisse was rendered one of the strong- 
est holds in the land by a considerable enlargement of its 
fortifications. On the far side of the river Neisse, upon 
the elevation from which Frederick had battered the 
town in 1741, a strong fort was erected, and received the 
name of Prussia. Frederick laid the first stone in person 
on the 30th March, 1743, with a silver trowel and ham- 
mer ; the inscription which was placed in the foundation- 
stone seems to refer to Frederick's character as Grand 
Master of the order of Freemasons. 

Glatz was likewise rendered a place of considerable 
strength by the erection of numerous outworks. Whilst 
extending the line of fortification here, amongst other 
things were found two statues of saints, — St. Xepomuck 
and St. Florian, — which had been erected during the 
Austrian regency. Both were preserved until the arrival 
of the king at Glatz, and his wish learned as to what 
should be done with them. " Florian, "replied Frederick, 
" is serviceable against fire, still I feel no great interest in 
him ; but the patron saint of Bohemia, St. Nepomuck, 
must certainly receive due honor. A tower must there- 



144 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

fore be raised upon this spot, and St. Xepomuck placed 
upon it." To this circumstance the round tower in the 
defences of Glatz owes its origin, and upon its highest 
platform stands the statue of St. Nepomuck. On Fred- 
erick's arriving here a second time, and finding the saint's 
face turned in the direction of Silesia, he remarked, with 
a smile, " This is not right : St. Nepomuck should have 
his eyes directed to the land under his protection ; " and 
accordingly the statue was turned round, so as to face 
Bohemia. The fortifications of Glogau and Brieg were 
strengthened ; and the town of Kosel, in Upper Silesia, 
which had been hitherto unfortified, was also provided 
with strong defences ; by w^hich means the frontier was 
secured on the Austrian side. 

His exertions for the augmentation and perfect organ- 
ization of the army were characterized by equal spirit. 
The first war had indicated many deficiencies, and laid 
bare many defects, which Frederick now resolved to rem- 
edy ; and his cavalry, from having been of but little use 
in the field, through the total neglect of his predecessor, 
shortly became one of the most efficient arms of the serv- 
ice. His attention was equally directed to the fostering 
of the internal prosperity of his states ; he made new 
arrangements for the advancement of manufactures and 
trade, and connected the Elbe with the Oder by means of 
a canal. The academy of sciences burst into new life 
and vigor, and held its first meeting in the royal palace 
in Berlin, when prizes were proposed for such as dis- 
tinguished themselves in the various walks of science. 

Amidst this general reorganization the gaieties and 
enjoyments of life were not forgotten ; the royal palace at 
Charlottenburg was considerably enlarged, by the addition 
of a new wing, erected under the direction Knobelsdorff. 
The splendid collection of antiques Avliich Frederick had 
pur^^hased, in 1742, from the heirs of Cardinal Polignac, was 
employed in decorating this palace. The opera-house, like- 
wise planned by Knobelsdorff, and first opened in Decem- 
ber, 1742, became one of the principal architectural orna^ 



TWO YEARS' PEACE. 145 

ments of Berlin. The visits of foreign princes afforded op- 
portunities for a display of the splendors of royalty ; but 
Frederick, despite his many engagements, still found 
leisure to compose the first portion of the History of his 
Times, descriptive of the first Silesian war, and thus 
qualified himself for companionship with those classical 
historians of antiquity whose works had engaged his 
early attention. On the occasion of his friend Key serling 
being married, in November, 1742, Frederick composed 
a comedy in three acts, " The World's School," as an epi- 
thalamium. Voltaire's arrival, in 1743, on a second visit 
to Berlin, completed the poetic charm. 

This visit of the French poet is thus described by the 
then English ambassador at the court of Prussia, in his 
correspondence with the English cabinet, and seems to 
have been but little relished by him : " Mons. Voltaire is 
again here, and perpetually in company with the king, 
who appears resolved to afford him materials for a poem 
on the pleasures of Berlin. There is nothing talked of 
here except Voltaire ; he reads his tragedies to queens 
and princesses until they weep, and surpasses even the 
king himself in raillery and sarcastic sallies. No one is 
considered fashionable here unless he have this poet's 
works in his head or pocket, or talk in rhyme." 

But Voltaire conceived himself called upon to play the 
part of a political negotiator in behalf of the French 
court; however, as he had no credentials' to produce, 
Frederick considered the whole thing as a farce, the off- 
spring of the poet's vanity ; for he had discovered, even 
during the poet's first visit, that his moral character was 
not as faultless as his rhymes. The Frenchman's avarice 
had been sufficiently apparent, although it had been 
passed over in silence ; but now his vanity involved him 
in many petty quarrels. By a strange poetic licence he 
transmitted to tho amiable princess ITlrike, one of the 
king's younger sisters, a polished madrigal, containing 
nothing less than a direct declaration of love. We trans- 
late it as literally as possible : 



146 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

'^ E'en falsehood's coarsest web would seem 
With threads of truth still partly wrought; 
Last night myself a king I thought, — 
The sweet illusion of a dream. 

Princess I I loved, and dared my love for thee to own, 
And then awoke, but lost not all, I deem — 
I had but to resign my throne." 

The princess replied in the most polished strains, com- 
posed by her brottier Frederick, and enlightening the 
poet in the most polite manner as to the difference in 
their ranks: "He had raised himself to the summit of 
Helicon by his own natural powers, whilst she was in- 
debted for everything to her ancestors." A second reply 
from Frederick treated the subject less allegorically. It 
ran pretty nearly as follows : 

'* Our dreams, by nature's law, will ever take 
Their tone from what we think of when awake : 
The hero dreams that he has crossed the Rhine ; 
The merchant asks, ' C^n all these gains be mine ? ' 
The dog, though sleeping, still the moon will bay : 
But should Voltaire, in Prussia, deem, with lying art, 
Himself a king— and still the fool but play, 
That were indeed t' abuse the dreamer's part." 

But these petty skirmishes did not prevent Voltaire's 
poetical powers from being enthusiastically admired; 
and, on his departure from Berlin, the wish to retain him 
altogether at the Prussian court was warmly expressed. 

In May, 1744, Frederick's possessions were augmented 
by the addition of a new territory, East Friesland, 
through the death, without issue, of its then ruler. 
Under a title derived from the Great Elector, he took 
immediate possession of the land, and received the hom- 
age of his new subjects, on the 25th of June, by com- 
mission. Frederick confirmed the rights and privileges 
of its estates, and prosperity and peace soon reigned 
throughout a land, which had hitherto suffered consider- 
ably from internal feuds and misgovernment. Its favor- 
able position for maritime purposes rendered it an object 
of considerable importance. 



TWO YEARS' PEACE. 147 

Frederick had, meanwhile, narrowly watched the train 
of events in the political world, and adopted such 
measures as were necessary for his own security. After 
the conclusion of the Breslau treaty, Austria directed the 
whole of its military resources against the French armies, 
scattered through Bohemia ; and freed the land of their 
presence then, advancing on Bavaria, again expelled the 
emperor, who had succeeded in regaining possession of 
his capital. The Bavarians and the French were now 
driven to the borders of the Khine ; England had like- 
wise taken up arms, and opposed a considerable army to 
the French force in Germany. The English were suc- 
cessful on the Mayne. France and the Emperor now 
made the most favorable propositions to the Austrian 
cabinet; but in vain. Maria Theresa would listen to 
nothing less than the ejection of the Emperor from the 
imperial throne, which her husband, Duke Francis, was 
to occupy. On the contrary, Austria, England, Holland 
and Sardinia entered, at Worms, in September, 1743, 
into league both offensive and defensive : Sardinia was 
induced to join, on condition of Austria surrendering up 
certain portions of its territories, which the latter power 
had hitherto held. On Maria Theresa's complaining to 
the King of England, that she was perpetually forced to 
surrender new portions of her kingdom, George II. re- 
plied, " Madam, whatever is worth taking is worth restor- 
ing." Frederick received a copy of this letter, and un- 
derstood the moral which it contained for him also. 

The intentions of the allies became more apparent on 
Saxony joining the Worms' league, with the private ar- 
ticles of which Frederick had become acquainted. The 
contracting parties had bound themselves to the mutual 
defence of their different territories, in pursuance of 
former treaties, therein recited; but no mention was 
made of that of Breslau. The private negotiations of 
this period rendered it impossible for Frederick to remaui 
an idle spectator of passing events. 

The Emperor, who dragged on a wretched existence at 



148 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

Frankfort, craved his aid with the utmost importunity ; 
and Frederick resolved on taking some decisive step. 
His idea was, to band the petty sovereigns of Germany 
together, as a counterpoise to the preponderating influ- 
ence of Austria. With this view, and under cover of 
paying visits to his sisters in Anspach and Baireuth, he 
proceeded, during the spring of 1744, on a tour through 
the empire, and succeeded in effecting the "Frankfort 
Union," which was to restore to " Germany freedom— to 
the Emperor his rank, — and to Europe peace." But, as 
France refused to advance the necessary monies, the 
greater number of the contracting parties subsequently 
abandoned the Union. 

Frederick's attention was now, of course, engrossed by 
France, the natural enemy of both Austria and England. 
But French politics had undergone a considerable change. 
Cardinal Fleury had died, and the kingdom was governed 
without regard to any fixed principles. Louis XV.'s reign 
had now commenced, attended by all the intrigues and 
absurdities of a government completely in the hands of 
abandoned women. Frederick perceived how matters 
stood, and alluded to the subject in the presence of the 
French ambassador. One evening as he was present at 
the opera, the curtain accidentally rose and disclosed the 
legs of some dancers who were practising their steps. 
The king turning to the English ambassador, who sat 
next him, whispered, but loud enough to be overheard by 
the French ambassador : " Look, there you have a perfect 
picture of the French ministry, all legs and no head." 

To negotiate with a ministry so constituted Frederick 
felt was by no means an easy task ; he therefore resolved 
on sending Count Rothenburg as his ambassador to Paris, 
who, having served in the French army, and being related 
to many members of the court, was best accquainted with 
its local relations. In order, however, to test the abilities 
of his representative, he summoned him ; and taking upon 
himself the part of a French minister, advanced every 
possible objection to his own propositions ; but Rothen-. 



TWO YEARS' PEACE. 149 

burg refuted the various arguments with so much abil- 
ity, that the king remarked : " If you be as eloquent and 
persuasive in Paris, you must certainly succeed." — And 
Frederick was not mistaken. Rothenburg's exertions 
were attended with such success, that France concluded, 
on the 5th of July, 1744, a treaty with Prussia, against 
Austria, and, on the basis of the Frankfort Union,^for the 
protection of the Emperor. France promised to advance 
with two corps upon the Lower and Upper Rhine; Fred- 
ericl^ on his pari, was to attack Bohemia, and to retain 
out of his conquests Austrian Silesia, and such portions 
of Bohemia as immediately adjoined Silesia. 

Frederick's next care was to secure himself against his 
northern neighbors. He was very anxious to conclude a 
treaty with Russia, but was baffled by British gold. He 
succeeded, however, in having the Princess Sophia 
Auguste of Anhalt-Zerbst (subsequently Catharine II. 
of Russia), who had been brought up in Prussia, and 
whose father was a field-marshal in the Prussian service, 
affianced to the heir of the Russian throne. By this 
means Frederick obtained at least some influence in the 
Russian councils. 

Prussia and Sweden became likewise more intimately 
connected, in consequence of the intermarriage of the 
Prince-royal of Sweden with the Princess Ulrike. The 
nuptials were celebrated with much splendor in Berlin, 
on the 17th of July, 1744. This was the last pageant that 
adorned these few brief years of peace. Frederick on this 
occasion exhibited all his talents for display, but the 
natural graces of the lovely bride far outshone the gaudy 
splendors of artificial pageantry. Fete succeeded fete up 
to the date of her departure. To drown the pain of part- 
ing, the various members of the royal family assembled 
at the opera, where Frederick handed his beloved sister 
a poem of his own composition. After the conclusion of 
the performance the bride set out for the Swedish capital, 
and Frederick returned to the field of battle. 



150 FREDERICK THE GREAT, 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

OPENING OF THE SECOND SILESIAN WAR. CAMPAIGN OF THE 

YEAR 1744. 

• 

Success had in the meantime awaited the operations 
of the French army, which advanced in two columns. 
The northern army, under the command of King Louis 
XY. in person, had made an incursion into the Austrian 
Netherlands, whilst the second corps had taken up a 
position on the Upper Rhine, but with more equivocal 
success. The latter was held in check by Count Traun, 
one of the ablest generals in the Austrian service ; who 
Avith his troops had penetrated into Alsatia, and already 
threatened Lorraine ; so that the northern French corps 
was necessitated to detach a part of its strength, in order 
that the southern might escape disaster ; whilst Frederick 
was compelled to hasten his operations against Bohemia. 

The Prussian army put itself in marching order, and 
prepared to enter Bohemia in three columns ; two of these 
were to penetrate through Saxony, and the third through 
Silesia, leaving two corps behind for the protection of 
Mark Brandenburg and Upper Silesia. A Prussian 
adjutant- general conveyed a requisition to the Dresden 
cabinet, wherein King Augustus was required by Charles 
VII. to grant a free passage to the Prussian troops. 
Augustus was in Warsaw at the time, and the Saxon 
ministers protested against the step ; and the land put 
itself in a state of defence, but the only result of these 
measures was that the passage of the Prussians through 



SECOND SILESIAN WAR. CAMPAIGN OF 1744. 151 

the country was rendered more tedious, and consequently 
more injurious. 

On the 15th of August, 1744, the Prussians reached the 
Bohemian frontier. The inhabitants having been strictly 
warned against offering any opposition to them, in a 
manifesto published prior to the incursion, allusion being 
made in general terms to the articles of the Frankfort 
Union, the Prussians met with but little resistance. The 
trifling embarrassments attending the march, arising from 
a want of water and provisions, were speedily removed ; 
and magazines were constructed at Leitmeritz, on the 
Elbe, for provisioning the army, the different corps of 
which were concentrated round Prague on the 2d of 
September. 

Preparations were immediately made for the siege of 
the Bohemian capital, which was garrisoned by a corps 
of 12,000 men. On the evening of the 10th of September 
trenches were opened in three different places. Schwerin 
prepared to assault the Ziskaberg; Prince Henry, the 
king's brother, visited the marshal during the night, and 
happening to inquire, in the course of conversation, the 
name of the chapel near which the king had encamped, 
the latter declared his ignorance : the prince, waving his 
hat, cried out : " Sancta Victoria ! " " Then we must cer- 
tainly do our utmost," replied Schwerin, "to become 
better acquainted with that saint." The assault was 
opened on the following day, and the Ziskaberg taken by 
storm. Frederick, who was standing in one of the 
trenches, advanced with several officers into an exposed 
position, in order to reconnoitre. The Austrian garrison, 
observing so many uniforms of rank, pointed the guns in 
that direction, and a luckless ball struck the Margrave 
William, one of the king's cousins, as he stood beside the 
monarch. (The margrave's elder brother had already 
met a hero's death in the battle of MoUwitz.) Frederick 
was deeply affected at the death of this prince. With 
the exception of this disaster the operations were signally 
successful, and the garrison capitulated on the 16th of 



152 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

September, surrendering themselves prisoners of war, 
and were conducted under escort to the Silesian fort- 
resses. 

From Prague Frederick proceeded southwards, and in- 
vested the cities of Tabor, Budweis, and Frauenberg, so 
that he was not far from the Austrian frontiers. He was 
induced to advance in this direction in consequence of an 
arrangement with King Louis XV. that they should act 
in concert. But the French were not p^irticularly scrupu- 
lous in fulfilling their engagements. They not only left 
the Austrian army every opportunity of effecting its re- 
treat from Alsatia, on the news of Frederick's incursion 
into Bohemia, but did not even follow them as they hur- 
ried forward to oppose Frederick, although this had been 
expressly stipulated. Instead of this the French, with an 
eye to their own individual interests, commenced an attack 
on the Austrian possessions in Breisgau. 

Frederick's position in the south of Bohemia was thus 
rendered critical, and other circumstances tended still 
further to increase his embarrassment. He found himself 
in a country which offered but little means for the sup- 
port of his troops or for the transport of the magazines. 
The peasants had been commanded by the Austrian gov- 
ernment to leave their huts on the aioproach of the Prus- 
sians, to bury their corn, and fly to the woods. Thus the 
army saw nothing but a wilderness and empty villages 
before it. No one could be induced to bring provisions to 
the camp for sale ; whilst the nobility, the clergy, and of- 
ficials remained faithful to the Austrian crown — religious 
opinions producing an insuperable hatred of the heretic 
Prussians. In addition, the Prussian army was on all . 
sides surrounded by numerous swarms of hussars, who 
had advanced from Hungary, and so completely inter- 
cepted all communications, that Frederick could learn 
nothing from Prague for the space of four weeks, nor as 
to the place whither the Austrian army of the Rhine, 
under Traun, had proceeded, nor of the warlike prepa- 
rations making in Saxony in favor of Austria. The Prus- 



SECOND SILESIAN WAR. CAMPAIGN OF 1744. 153 

sian scouts were invariably cut off, and fell into the hands 
of the enemy ; and the army, as in the times of ancient 
Rome, were compelled to dig trenches, and confine itself 
within the circuit of the camp. 

The want of provisions at last compelled Frederick to 
retire. The various fortified places which he had cap- 
tured and garrisoned, were soon besieged by Hungarian 
troops, and being but scantily supplied with stores, were 
forced to surrender at discretion. After some days' march- 
ing, Frederick encountered a numerous hostile army, con- 
siderably augmented by reinforcements from Saxony. 
He now conceived that he had arrived at tlie limit of his 
toils, and hoped by one decisive engagement to attain such 
advantages as would ensure him the sovereignty of this 
obstinate land. But Traun took up such an admirable 
position, that the Prussians, as they dared not venture on 
an attack, were again, from want of provisions, forced to 
retire still farther. The Austrian army hung upon their 
rear ; and Traun, who received ready support from the 
inhabitants of the country, continually repeated this 
manoeuvre. 

Thus a considerable period was wasted in marches and 
countermarches between the Sassawa and the Upper Elbe, 
until Frederick was forced, from want of provisions, the 
severity of the season, the harassing nature of the march, 
and the numerous diseases which had broken out in his 
army, to retire across the Elbe. He trusted that the 
Austrians, exhausted by their double campaign, would 
take up their winter- quarters on the opposite side of the 
stream. He therefore strove to strengthen his position 
on the far side, and cover the river. But the enemy were 
able to observe and profit by every motion of the Prus- 
sians, as they had full information of everything passing 
in the Prussian camp. On the 19th of November the 
Austrians suddenly forced a passage across the stream, at 
a point where they were almost unopposed. A single 
battalion, under Lieutenant-colonel Wedell, disputed the 
passage. This battalion sustained the attacks of the 



154 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

Austrians for five hours with surprising hardihood and 
endurance, backed as the former were by fifty cannons, 
and repulsed Uyi Austrian grenadiers three several times. 
Wedell had sent off some hussars to the Prussian camp 
to apprise Frederick of his position, but they had fallen 
into the hands of the enemy ; and no reinforcement arriv- 
ing, he retired, in perfect order, with the remnant of his 
valiant troop, to the main body of the Prussian army. 
This deed procured him the appellation of the Prussian 
Leonidas. Prince Charles of Lorraine, the leader of the 
Austrian army, could not avoid expressing his admiration 
for the chivalry of the deed. " How happy," said he to 
his staff, "would our queen be, had she m her army 
officers resembling this hero ! " 

The Austrians thus passing the stream decided the fate 
of this year's campaign. Frederick was forced to sur- 
render Prague, as he was cut off from Silesia, and to retire 
upon the latter, where alone winter-quarters for his troops 
were to be found. The retreat was eft'ected in three 
columns, and in such good order that the enemy acquired 
no further advantages. The rear-guard, in which Fred- 
erick was pre?!ent, was during its march violently assailed 
by a corps of Pandoors ; but the latter, on hearing the 
grunting of some pigs in a village, hastened without loss 
of time in pursuit of this welcome booty, and allowed the 
Prussians to continue their march without further inter- 
ruption. The garrison of Prague was the only section of 
the Prussian army which suffered any considerable em- 
barrassment or loss during their retreat, arising from the 
want of decision and energy in its leader. General Einsiedel. 
Frederick consequently cashiered the general, and the 
Prince-royal of Dessau, who had been hitherto Einsiedel's 
chief patron, likewise withdrew his favor. But Schwerin, 
wiio had frequently opposed the views of the Prince-royal 
of Dessau, so much so that Frederick was often obliged 
to interpose his whole authority in order to bring about a 
reconciliation between these two generals, sought to jus- 
tify Einsiedel's conduct. Not being successful iii tliis, he 



SECOND SILESIAN WAR. CAMPAIGN OF 1744. 155 

threw up his commission and retired from the service. 
On the 14th of September the king reached Silesia, from 
whence he returned to Berlin to make preparations for 
the future. 

Frederick has severely criticised this campaign, also, 
in the History of His Times, without attempting to 
conceal the errors which he had committed. " The whole 
advantages of this campaign," he remarks, " were on the 
side of Austria. Traun played the part of Sertorius ; the 
king, that of Pompey. Traun's conduct was a perfect 
model, which every soldier should study in order to 
imitate him, if possible. The king has himself acknowl- 
edged that he must consider that campaign as his school 
in the art of warfare, and Traun as his master. The 
successes of monarchs have often been pregnant with far 
more disastrous consequences than their reverses. The 
former intoxicate them with personal vanity whilst the 
latter teach them prudence and modesty." 

Frederick had scarcely left his army, when the Aus- 
trians strove to take advantage of what they termed the 
fears of the Prussians. Numerous detachments ad- 
vanced, towards the close of the year, upon Upper Silesia 
and the province of Glatz, and the Prussians retired upon 
the fortified to^vns. The Austrians published a mani- 
festo, in which Maria Theresa declared the Breslau treaty 
void, as being the effect of compulsion on her part, and 
relieving the Silesians from their allegiance towards 
Frederick, reminding them of the happy days they 
enjoyed beneath the Austrian rule. Frederick was not 
slow in taking counter-measures. As Schwerin had 
retired from the service, and the young Prince of Dessau 
was dangerously ill, the illustrious father of the latter, 
Leopold of Dessau, who had hitherto commanded the 
corps which had remained behind in Brandenburg, was 
summoned to Silesia, and received the command of the 
troops serving in that quarter. A Prussian manifesto 
likewise appeared, refuting the assertions of the Aus- 
trians and commenting upon the alleged blessings of the 



156 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

former sovereignty of Austria. In spite of all the horrors 
of the weather the Prussians attacked the Austrian s 
with courage and resolution, and drove them back A^ath 
considerable loss to the Silesian frontier. On the 21st of 
Feburary, 1745, a solemn Te Deum was sung in Berlin in 
commemoration of the successes in Silesia. The army 
then took up its winter-quarters, exposed, however, to 
repeated attacks from the light troops of the Austrians. 

On Frederick's return to Berlin he received intelligence 
of an event which gave him great joy. His brother, 
Augustus William, had a son (afterwards William II.) 
born to him during the campaign in Bohemia, so that 
there was now an heir to the throne. Frederick, as his 
own marriage proved without issue, had invested his 
brother, before the commencement of the second Silesian 
war, with the title of Prince of Prussia, and declared 
him his successor. As a mark of the weight he attached 
to the event above alluded to, he with his own hands sus- 
pended the order of the Black Eagle round the infant's 
neck. 

But the political horizon was still darkened by many a 
tempest cloud. Towards the commencement of the year 
1745 Austria, England, Holland, and Saxony concluded 
at Warsaw a treaty for their mutual defence. Saxony 
binding itself to provide a considerable army in consider- 
ation of receiving English subsidies in money, it was 
arranged in general terms that she should receive differ- 
ent provinces of the Prussian monarchy, whilst Austria 
was secured in the possession of Silesia and Glatz. 

Frederick's position became still more critical through 
the death of the Emperor, Charles VII., which occurred 
on the 20th of January, as Austria had succeeded in induc- 
ing the Emperor's son to relinquish the war, and abandon 
all claims on her, in consideration of his hereditary domin- 
ions being restored to him, and even to support the 
Grand Duke Francis in his pretensions to the imperial 
crown. The Frankfort compact was consequently at 
an end. Immediately on the death of the Emperor, 



SECOND SILESIAN WAR. CAMPAIGN OF 1744. I57 

Frederick entreated the King of France to fulfil his 
obligations, and commence, in unison with himself, a 
series of active operations against Austria. But for this 
Louis felt little inclination : the Emperor's death, seem- 
ing to promise some arrangement of his disordered affairs, 
was rather welcome than otherwise ; and Frederick whom 
he was taught by his confessors and mistresses to regard 
as the first of heretics, was the subject of his most 
thorough detestation. He accordingly concentrated his 
whole power against Flanders, and his army obtained, on 
the 11th of May, a brilliant victory at Fontenay. 

Thus Frederick, opposed to powerful foes, saw himself 
reduced to rely upon himself alone. Every effort was 
therefore made, by means of extraordinary conscriptions, 
to be prepared to repel any attack that might be made. 
More than six millions of thalers were taken out of the 
treasury, a million and a half were advanced by the 
Estates, the greater part of the massive silver plate into 
which Frederick William I. had converted a portion of 
his treasure, and particularly the splendid silver orchestra 
was taken out of the Knights' Chamber in the Berlin 
palace, and reconverted into money. With these ad- 
ditional funds he was enabled to make some provision 
for the future sustenance of his army ; and no sooner 
were these serious arrangements completed than Fred- 
erick returned (on the 15th of March) to the camp. 



158 FREDEEICK THE GREAT, 



CHAPTER XIX. 

CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAB 1745. 

Unwilling to expose his army a second time to the 
toils of a campaign like that of the last year, Frederick 
resolved on awaiting the enemy's attack on Silesia, and 
then concentratmg all his forces at the point assailed. 
One considerable advantage for him was the recall of 
Traun from the command of the Austrian army, and his 
post being afterwards filled by less provident commanders. 
From the movements of the Austrians it became appar- 
ent that the blow would come from the Bohemian side, 
although various dispositions were made to lead Fred- 
erick to form a different conclusion. The latter was, how- 
ever, not so easily imposed upon, and the desultory Avar- 
fare that occurred was merely calculated to improve the 
Prussian cavalry, and lay the foundation for that fame 
which it subsequently achieved at Winterfeld. 
• After having visited Xeisse, Frederick concentrated 
the main body of his army in front of the hills which 
separate the province of Glatz from Silesia, taking up 
his headquarters in the Cistercian monastery of Camenz. 
Shortly previous to his so doing, Frederick narrowl}' 
escaped being captured ; a danger which had already 
threatened him in this neighborhood before. The best 
authorities are agreed that the circumstance to which 
we allude is referable to this period. It seems that Fred- 
erick had paid a preparatory visit to the monastery, 
and that some Austrian marauders had learned this fact. 
The convent-bell suddenly pealed throughout the mon- 



CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR 1745. 159 

astery ; all the monks were summoned to the choir at a 
most unusual hour, it being evening ; and when the abbot 
appeared, he was accompanied by a stranger, clad in the 
vestments of their order. Prayers and matins were held, 
but the chant had hardly commenced when a violent 
tumult arose in the court-yard of the convent. A band 
of Croats burst into the church ; but as they did not 
venture to disturb the divine service it continued without 
interruption. At length, as soon as the confusion had 
subsided, the abbot made a signal for the music to cease, 
and the monks were now for the first time informed that 
the Croats had been in search of the Prussian king, but 
had only found his adjutant, whom they had carried off 
with them. — The strange clergyman was no other than 
Frederick himself. For this act of fidelity and presence 
of mind the abbot of Camenz, Tobias Stusche, always en- 
joyed the highest favor of the king, from whom he re- 
ceived various presents, and amongst others a set of 
splendid vestments, upon which the abbot caused the 
Prussian eagle to be embroidered, and consecrated them 
on the anniversary of the king's birthday. These singu- 
lar sacerdotal robes are still preserved in Camenz, and an 
inscription in the church informs posterity of the danger 
and escape of the great king. 

The enemy's motions rendered it necessary for Fred- 
erick to make the most vigorous preparations for active 
warfare. The Margrave Charles was still at the head of 
a division in Upper Silesia, but the whole land was so 
completely overswarmed with Hungarian marauders, 
that all communication between the margrave and the 
king was intercepted. Ziethen, who had already distin- 
guished himself by his gallantry in the first war, and had 
rapidly advanced from a subordinate post to that of com- 
mander of a regiment of hussars, Avas detached with his 
regiment to the margrave, with orders for the latter to 
advance without delay. This commission was by no means 
easy of execution ; but the new dolmans, which the regi- 
ment had just received, afforded an opportunity for a 



160 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

bold stratagem. These dolmans gave this regiment some- 
what the appearance of imperial troops, and enabled them 
to proceed quietly on their march, until, by attaching 
themselves to an Austrian troop, they had passed through 
the midst of the enemy. Ziethen was not recognized 
until very late, and then the hussars broke through all 
opposition, carrying off even some officers viitli them as 
prisoners. The margrave's march to join the main army 
was attended with more considerable difficulties. He 
was opposed by far superior numbers, but regiment after 
regiment dashed forward, and carved themselves a path 
with the sword, until they reached the king's camp, 
where their courage met with its full meed of praise. 
The whole army burned to earn similar distinction ; nor 
was the opportunity long wanting. 

The Austrian and Saxon armies had formed a junction 
at Trautenau, and advanced from thence upon the fron- 
tiers of Silesia. Frederick fell back with his army to 
Schweidnitz, and took up a favorable jDosition between 
Schweidnitz and Striegau. In order to deceive the enemy, 
he circulated the report that he was about to retire upon 
Breslau, and, to give this intention a color of probability, 
the Breslau roads were partially repaired. Frederick 
now recalled his advanced guard, and circulated the same 
report amongst them. The enemy fell into tlie snare, and 
did not take those precautionary measures which were 
necessary in the presence of so considerable an enemy. 
On the hostile armies emerging from the hills, the 
Austrian and Saxon generals held a council of war on the 
Galgenburg, near Ilohenfriedberg, where the whole plain 
lay beneath their feet. Frederick's troops were, however, 
so concealed by brambles and mud- walls as to be almost 
invisible. This confirmed the enemy in their mistake, 
and plans for the cai)ture of Silesia Avith the least pos- 
sible trouble were here debated. The troops then got 
under arms, and continued their march. 

The following night Frederick mustered his troops 
near Striegau, in perfect silence, and in such a position as 



CA3IPAIGN OF THE YEAR 1745. 161 

was best adapted for receiving the enemy. At break of 
day the troops formed in line of battle. Before this ma- 
noeuvre could be executed, the Saxon army had received 
orders to seize Striegau, and had descended the heights. 
The Prussian right wing now advanced with such impet- 
uosity upon the Saxons that they were borne down and 
routed before the Austrians could obtain intelligence of 
the CA^ent. The Prri' e of Lorraine, who was commander- 
in-chief of tlie Austrian army, had heard the firing, but 
conceived tliat it v/as the attack upon Striegau. He was 
now informed that the plams were strewed with Saxon 
deiid, nnd was forced to prepare for battle without a 
moment's delay, but the repeated charges of the Austrians 
were met with the same heroic fortitude. Not a Prus- 
sian corps gave way ; each steadily advanced, and every 
man vied with his fellows in acts of gallantry and daring. 

The morning sun shone upon a well-fought field. 

The dragoon regiment of Baireuth, under the command 
of General Gessler, distinguished itself particularly, by 
routing upwards of twenty battalions of the enemy, 
taking two thousand five hundred prisoners, and captur- 
ing sixty standards and four guns. Frederick himself 
had set his troops an example of the most determined 
contempt of death, by advancing with three battalions in 
the face of the Austrian guns, which mowed them down 
by his side in lines, so that but three hundred and sixty 
men reached the heights ; where he headed a charge with 
fixed bayonets upon a battery. The Austrians lost in 
this battle, which bears the name of Ilohenfriedberg, or 
Striegau, eleven thousand men, — seven thousand pris- 
oners, and four thousand slain, — together with many 
standards and guns ; whilst the loss on the Prussian side 
amounted to but eight hundred rank and file, inclusive 
of prisoners and slain. The Baireuth dragoon regiment 
was invested by the king with extraordinary decorations 
in memory of its gallant exploits on this occasion ; and 
Frederick remarks in the History of His Times, alluding 
to the victory of Hohenfriedberg, " The globe does not 



IQ2 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

rest more securely upon the shoulders of Atlas than 
Pi'ussia upon such an army as she now possesses." 

The French ambassador, the Chevalier de la Tour, who 
had come to announce the victory of Fontenay, and was 
present at this defeat of the Austrians, had some time 
previously asked Frederick's permission to accompany 
the Prussian army for a short period, when the latter 
inquired, "Do you wish, then, to see who shall retain 
Silesia ? " " No, sire," replied the French chevalier, « I 
only wish to see your majesty chastise your enemies and 
defend your subjects." He now received a letter, directed 
to his master. King Louis XV., in which the following 
words occur : " I have honored at Friedeberg the draft 
which you drew upon me at Fontenay." The bitter tone 
of this remark was elicited by Louis's conduct. Freder- 
ick had not neglected to make every exertion to induce 
him to take more active steps against Austria, but in 
vain. He excused himself by pointing to the victory of 
Fontenay. Frederick replied by remarking that the 
Austrian forces opposed to the French in Flanders 
hardly exceeded six thousand men; that the French 
victories were, no doubt fraught with glory for the King 
of France, but about as useful to his allies as a victory 
on the banks of the Scamander or the capture of Pekin. 
Frederick received a cold and haughty answer in reply, 
and the friendship which had hitherto subsisted between 
the French and Prussian monarchs seemed at an end. 

After pursuing the enemy to the heights of the hills, 
Frederick halted, as his troops were completely exhausted 
by their previous night's march and their exertions 
during the engagement ; besides which, before proceed- 
ing further, it was necessary to bring up his provision, 
ammunition, and stores which had been left behind at 
Schweidnitz. Thus the pursuit of the foe was neces- 
sarily suspended until the following day, when the 
advance-guard coming up with the enemy's rear, which 
had not taken any part in the previous engagement, at- 
tacked it and put it to the rout, the Austrians retii^ing 



CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR 1745. 163 

with considerable loss and the utmost expedition, upon 
Bohemia. 

On Frederick's arrival in Landshut he was surrounded 
by two thousand peasants, who entreated permission to 
slay all the Catholics of the neighborhood. This was in- 
tended as an act of retribution for the harsh treatment 
which the Silesian provinces had to endure from the Cath- 
olic priesthood. Frederick reminded the clamorous mis- 
creants of the words of the gospel : to bless those that 
calumniate them, and pray for those that persecute 
ttiem. The peasants, struck by such expressions of clem- 
ency, declared the king to be in the right, and refrained 
from the execution of their barbarous design. 

Frederick, in pursuance of the plan which he had 
adopted previous to the battle of Hohenf riedberg, pursued 
the Austrians to Bohemia, in order to destroy, as far as 
possible, their means of support, and thus hinder them 
from again taking up their winter-quarters in the neigh- 
borhood of Silesia. He did not, however, venture to pene- 
trate deeper into Bohemia, being obliged to draw the 
whole of the provisions for his army from Silesia. The 
Prince of Lorraine had formed an intrenched camp at 
Konigingratz. Frederick's positions were equally strong : 
first at Jaromirz and afterwards at Chlumetz. Here 
nothing beyond a species of petty warfare between the 
light troops of both armies, and some desultory attacks 
upon the convoys of provisions occurred to relieve the 
dull monotony of camp-life. Sometimes an opportunity 
for a display of humor and originality, or, may be, gal- 
lantry would offer. Thus, on one occasion a detachment 
of Prussians stationed at Schmerschiitz played off an ad- 
mirable ruse de guerre upon their Pandoor enemies, in 
order to cure the latter of their propensity for perpetually 
attacking the trenches. Some Prussian grenadiers con- 
structed a wooden figure, and dressing it up in their own 
costume, placed it at a point which was generally held by 
.the outermost piquet. They then concealed themselves 
behind some brushwood, and put the wooden soldier's 



1G4 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

limbs in motion by pulling certain cords. The Pandoors 
remarking from afar the jollity of the supposed sentrj% 
shot at him until they brought him down, and then 
rushed forward to strip the slain of his worldly goods. 
But they w^ere received by a hot fire from the ambuscade 
in the brushwood, and several prisoners were taken, while 
those who escaped so frightened their comrades that sim- 
ilar attacks were not for some time repeated. Proofs of 
chivalrous feeling were likewise given at times. Thus 
some officers belonging to an Austrian detachment, having 
been engaged witli a Prussian corps, remarked to the 
officers of the latter, " It is a pleasure, gentlemen, to fight 
with you; we can always learn something from you." 
The Prussians replied, with equal politeness, that the 
Austrians were their masters, and that if they had learned 
to defend themselves vigorously, it was owing to their 
having been always vigorously attacked. 

It now became necessary for Frederick to act with 
more caution, and make better provision against any un- 
foreseen attack, inasmuch as he had considerably dimin- 
ished his strength by detaching several corps. Ko sooner 
had Upper Silesia been evacuated by the Prussian troops, 
than the Hungarians began to spread themselves over the 
face of the country, without meeting any opposition ; 
until Frederick, upon receiving intelligence that the for- 
tress of Kosel had fallen into their hands through the 
treachery of one of the officers of the garrison, sent some 
troops thither, who speedily recaptured it, and freed the 
province from the presence of its enemies. A second 
corps was then detached to reinforce the Prussian army 
stationed at Halle, under the command of the Prince of 
Dessau, in order to enable it to withstand any attacks 
that might come from Saxony ; renewed preparations for 
war having been made by that power, which had called 
forth a most serious remonstrance from Frederick. This 
movement caused the greater portion of the Saxon troops, 
who had hitherto served with the Austrians in Bohemia, 
to be recalled. 



CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR 1745. 165 

Frederick did not, however, proceed to aggressive meas- 
ures against Saxony in the first instance, in the hope of 
being able to arrange matters amicably. The English 
court had, in consequence of a change in the ministry, 
become more peacefully disposed, and on the 22d of Sep- 
tember a convention was signed at Hanover between Fred- 
erick and the King of England, wherein the latter guar- 
anteed anew the possession of Silesia to Frederick, and 
promised to induce, if possible, both Austria and Saxony 
to come to terms, in consideration of Frederick promising 
to acknowledge the Grand-duke Francis as emperor. The 
latter had been elected on the 30th of September at Frank- 
fort, no regard having been paid to the protestation of 
the Prussian ambassador. But the haughty soul of Maria 
Theresa, swelling with ancestral pride and the brilliant 
recollections of her imperial descent, would stoop to no 
compromise. She considered it mcompatible with her 
dignity to negotiate with the prince, whom she regarded 
as a rebellious subject, and publicly declared that she 
would rather part mth the garment from her back than 
with Silesia. Saxony felt equally little inclination for 
peace. King Augustus aimed at rendering the Polish 
crown hereditary in his family, and conceived that the 
increase of his power and the connection of his Saxon 
possessions with Poland, by means of some Prussian 
provinces, was admirably calculated to effect this pur- 
pose. 

New reinforcements were sent to the Prince of Lor- 
raine, together with a few generals to aid him in drawing 
up his plans. The Austrians did actually attempt some 
unusually violent measures, which were, however, parried 
by the gallantry of the Prussian troops. Frederick's 
camp was too strong to admit of being attacked with 
success ; he therefore contented himself with surveying 
from his tent, which was situated upon a height, the 
motions of the Austrian generals, as they daily advanced 
to consult together, and opened their long telescopes to 



1(36 FREDERICK THE GREAT, 

reconnoitre his position, and then retired, in the hope 
of the future inspiring them with better counsels. 

Meanwhile Frederick found himself obliged to take up 
a new position ; he advanced more to the north, in order 
to strip that portion of the Bohemian hills lying between 
Lower Silesia and the j)rovince of Glatz of its provisions, 
and thus form a complete line of partition, so as to pro- 
tect Silesia, during the approaching winter, from any 
hostile incursion. For the occupation of the mountain- 
passes he was again obliged to weaken his army, by de- 
taching several corps, so that the total amount of his 
collective forces did not now exceed eighteen thousand 
men, whilst the Austrians who watched his movements 
amounted to forty thousand. 

As he was about to advance from his camp in the 
village of Staudenz, he was suddenlj^ attacked at early 
dawn by the Austrian army, which advanced in order of 
battle upon him. His jDOsition w^as unfavorable, and he 
had not sufficient troops to hold the important points. 
But the Austrians were likewise on rather unfavorable 
ground, as they could not bring the whole of their forces 
into play. Frederick took advantage of this circumstance, 
and instead of retiring, as the Austrians expected he 
would, and thus allowing himself to be attacked possibly 
in a still more disadvantageous position, he rapidly ex- 
panded his whole army in one line, so as to prevent him- 
self from being outflanked. This manoeuvre was executed 
under a shower of hand-grenades from the enemy, but 
not a soldier blenched or flinched from his position. Fred- 
erick rode for a quarter of an hour beneath this shower 
of shot, but without being wounded : one ball must have 
struck him, were it not that it passed through the head 
of his horse, which at that instant was in the act of rear- 
ing. The Austrians permitted this disposition to be made 
without any further interruption. The Prussian cavalry 
now charged the enemy, broke their first lines, and drove 
them back upon the second, and these again upon the 
third ; fifty squadrons were thus overpowered by twelve^ 



CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR 1745. 167 

through the impetuosity of the assault, and were pre- 
vented from rallying by the unfavorable nature of the 
ground. The Prussian right wing then stormed the bat- 
tery with which the Austrians had opened the battle ; 
whilst a single battalion of the left wing put a strong 
column of the enemy to the rout. The Prussians pressed 
irresistibly forward, leaving but one steep ascent in the 
centre of the engagement in the hands of the Austrians, 
and this was soon escaladed and captured likewise by the 
Prussian Guard. Fate ordained that two brothers should 
be here opposed to each other in mortal combat ; Prince 
Lewis of Brunswick commanded the Austrians at this 
point, whilst his younger brother. Prince Ferdinand, 
headed the Prussian Guard, and here first displayed that 
heroism for Vviiich he became afterwards so distinguished. 
The routed Austrians made a last effort to rally upon the 
heights of the mountain-land ; but the Prussians again 
pressed forward upon them, and forced them to take ref- 
uge in the adjoining woods. Frederick checked the per- 
suit at the village of Soor, from which the battle derives 
its name. The victory was complete, but Frederick lost 
a great part of his baggage, it having fallen into the hands 
of a Hungarian corps. This circumstance, however, ren- 
dered the victory so much the more easy, as the Hungar- 
ians were so occupied with the booty that they neglected 
to fall upon the Prussian rear, as they had been instructed. 
The further pursuit of the enemy was rendered impos- 
sible through the intervention of a wood, as the Prus- 
sians would there be necessarily exposed to every species 
of danger, and without the prospect of any equivalent 
advantage. The immediate inconvenience arising from 
the loss of the baggage was soon forgotten in the general 
joy at the victory itself. The king had lost the whole of 
his camp-stores and furniture. He was even obliged to 
send the news of the victory to Breslau on a small slip of 
paper, written in penciling ; and when he was about to 
sup, it was discovered that but a few bottles of wine re- 
mained, and not a loaf of bread was to be had. An officer 



Igg FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

was accordingly sent out to procure some bread, and 
after a long search a soldier was discovered who had one 
loaf left. For this he was offered a ducat, which he, 
however, refused, rejecting even still higher offers ; but 
on being informed that the bread was wanted for the 
king's use, he resolved on bringing his majesty the half 
of it. Frederick accepted this valuable present with 
gratitude. But this state of things was speedily rem- 
edied. The king also had fresh books sent him, to re- 
place those which he had lost, in order to fill up his 
leisure hours. 

A pretty little greyhound belonging to the king had 
likewise been carried off with the royal baggage. This 
was the only loss which affected the king sensibly. The 
animal was a particular favorite of his ; and, indeed, he 
was generally surrounded by some favorite dogs. The 
enemy testified their commiseration for the king's loss by 
sending back the greyhound. The story goes, that Fred- 
erick had just seated himself at his writing-desk when 
the greyhound entered the apartment unobserved, and 
springing upon the table, placed its tore-paws upon the 
king's shoulders. Frederick was so affected by this un- 
expected meeting that he is said to have shed tears. 

The battle of Soor left the continuance of the campaign 
completely at Frederick's discretion. Feeling little in- 
clination for any new enterprise in Bohemia, he, after 
remaining five days upon the field of battle as undisputed 
^dctor, proceeded to ravage the neighboring country, and 
then set out for Silesia. His march was considerably im- 
peded by the murderous attacks to which his army was 
exposed in its progress through the narrow defiles of this 
mountain-land, but the loss sustained was comparatively 
insignificant. On its arrival in Silesia the main body of 
the army encamped, under the command of the Prince- 
royal of Dessau, at Schweidnitz ; and Frederick, on learn- 
ing that the Austrians had separated into three bodies, 
and were likely to become even still more dispersed, 
returned to Berlin. 



CONCLUSION OF THE SECOND SILESIAN WAR. 1G9 



CHAPTER XX. 

CONCLUDING CAMPAIGN OF THE SECOND SILESIAN WAR. 

In Berlin Frederick was received with all the honors 
due to a conqueror. He now hoped that the favorable 
moment had at length arrived when his enemies would 
lend a more willing ear to his overtures of peace. But 
Austria and Saxony were far from sympathizing in these 
sentiments ; and Count Briihl, who had felt his pride 
severely wounded by some expressions contained in Fred- 
erick's manifesto against Saxony, had, on the 8th of No- 
vember, the same day on which the trophies won at 
Hohenfriedberg were suspended in the churches of Ber- 
lin, been raising a new storm round Frederick's head. 
Private intelligence had been conveyed to Frederick, to 
the effect that the armies of Austria and Saxony were 
about to form an immediate junction, for the purpose of 
attacking him in Mark Brandenburg. Further corrobo- 
rative intelligence was soon received, announcing the 
erection of considerable magazines in Saxon Lusatia, for 
the support of Austrian troops ; one section of the Aus- 
trian army being held in readiness to attack Silesia on 
the Bohemian side, whilst a corps of the Austrian army 
of the Rhine, under the command of General Grunne, 
was already marching upon Berlin. 

But with the same rapidity with which these new 
dangers had been conjured up, were Frederick's disposi- 
tions made to meet the coming foe. The venerable Prhice 
of Dessau was again invested with the command of the 
army stationed at Halle, with orders to make an incur- 



170 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

sion upon Saxony ; whilst Frederick, at the head of the 
Silesian army, attacked it on the Lusatian side. It was 
Frederick's intention to march from both points straight 
on Dresden. A garrison was left in Berlin for its de- 
fence, and a considerable number of the citizens enrolled 
themselves in a brigade to aid in repelling any sudden 
assault ; the capital was further put in a state of defence 
by digging trenches and throwing up outworks. 

Frederick reached Liegnitz, the headquarters of the 
Silesian army, on the 15th of Xovember. Whilst the 
Austrians were penetrating into Lusatia he employed the 
same manoeuvre which he had already played off with 
such success at Hohenfriedberg. He circulated reports 
as to his being concerned for the safety of his ovrn terri- 
tories, and its being his intention to return with his army 
in order to cover them, and took several steps to give a 
color of truth to these reports. The Prince of Lorraine 
fell a second time into this snare. Frederick reached 
Lusatia quite unexpectedlj^ and came in contact, on the 
23d of November, at Hennersdorff, with the Saxon regi- 
ments which formed the advanced guard of the Austrian 
army. The Saxons were attacked and beaten, and their 
loss produced such confusion in the body of the Austrian 
army that the latter retired from place to place. Gorlitz, 
which had been stored, was obliged to surrender to Fred- 
erick, and soon afterwards Zittau, where the Austrian 
rear-guard had sought refuge, was likewise taken, and 
with it the Austrian baggage. In a very short time the 
whole of Lusatia was in Frederick's hands ; the Austrian 
army having fallen back upon Bohemia. An attack of 
the Austrians on Silesia had been likev/ise repulsed with 
loss. The whole of Saxony became panic-struck, and 
General Grunne's corps, which was just on the edge of 
Brandenburg, was recalled with all expedition to the 
Saxon main army. 

Frederick employed these new successes in endeavor- 
ing to induce King Augustus to conclude a treaty of 
peace, based on the terms of the Hanoverian convention 



CONCLUSION OF THE SECOND SILESIAN WAR. 171 

with England. But Augustus, or, rather, Bruhl, insisted, 
as a preliminary, on the immediate suspension of all hos- 
tilities, and the payment of all damages occasioned by 
the incursion of the Prussians. This condition was of 
course rejected by Frederick, and the negotiations were 
shortly afterwards suspended. Briihl had wisely trans- 
ferred his master from Dresden to Prague on the first 
approach of danger, and thus spared him a sight of the 
horrors of war, in order that his voice alone might reach 
the monarch's ear. 

The war was now carried on with increased vigor. 
Frederick entered Saxony, and accelerated the movements 
of the Prince of Anhalt, who had hitherto been rather 
tardy, either from caprice or age. The latter now moved 
forward, invested Leipzig on the 30th of November, and 
reached Meissen on the 6th of December. Frederick 
kept likewise moving in the same direction. The Prince 
of Lorraine had in the meantime again evacuated Bohemia, 
and formed a junction with the Saxons at Dresden ; but 
the Saxon ministry had quartered the army in such an 
absurdly scattered manner that it required twenty-four 
hours' time to muster it; the prince's protestations 
against such an arrangement being unheeded. Count 
Rutosky, also, who held the command of the Saxon army 
which was to cover Dresden from the first attacks of the 
Prussians, upon being requested to give information to 
the Prince of Lorraine with all possible dispatch, in the 
event of his being attacked, replied, that he required no 
aid ; and thus the Saxons by their infatuation became 
themselves the instruments of their own destruction. 

On the 15th of December the Prince of Dessau marched 
on Dresden. Frederick at the same time invested Meis- 
sen, which formed the communication between both banks 
of the Elbe, so as to be prepared for all attempts of the 
enemy on either side of the stream. He here received a 
letter from the Saxon ministry, consenting to the terms 
he had formerly offered, and informing him of Maria 
Theresa's wish for peace. He had hardly read the letter 



r 



172 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

when the heavens seemed lit up with flame, and the 
thunder of a furious cannonade burst upon his ears. 
The battle had begun between the Prince of Dessau and 
the Saxons. 

Prince Leopold had taken up an admirable position 
near Kesselsdorf . The left wing of the Saxons, which 
rested on this point, seemed assailable, but was strongly 
sheltered by a powerful battery. The other wing of the 
Saxon army stood on the edge of a precipice, whose 
heights were so covered with ice and snow as to appear 
inaccessible ; — but the more daring the deed the brighter 
the renown. The day had come on which this aged war- 
rior was to crown his brilliant career of half a century by 
one glorious exploit. His dispositions were made with 
the most perfect coolness and indifference. He could 
well rely on the undaunted courage of men who were 
ready to follow him whom they deemed invulnerable, 
whithersoever he chose to lead them : and having offered 
up a short prayer, which was well calculated to strengthen 
his resolution — " Heavenly Father ! " such are his words, 
*•' graciously aid me this day : but if thou shouldst not be 
so disposed, lend not, at least, thy aid to those scoundrels, 
the enemy, but passively await the issue ! " — he gave the 
signal for the assault. The charge was twice beaten back 
by heavy showers of grape. The Saxons advanced in 
pursuit, but immediately received such an overwhelming 
shock from a regiment of Prussian dragoons that they 
were instantly borne down. The village was speedily 
seized, the battery taken, the hostile cavalry dispersed, 
and a general rout ensued. The Prussian left wing, 
which had stood opposite those sheets of rock, now pressed 
forward, escaladed the heights by a dangerous path, and 
again put the foe to flight. Count Rutowski arrived with 
the remnant of his routed army in Dresden, just as the 
Prince of Lorraine was engaged in inustering the Austrian 
forces. The latter proposed to the count that they should 
make a joint attack upon the Prussians the next day, but 
the latter was so disheartened that he would attempt 



CONCLUSION OF THE SECOND SILESIAN WAR. 173 

nothing further. He demonstrated to the Prince the 
necessity which then existed for withdrawing their troops, 
and falling back upon the Bohemian frontiers, a measure 
which was accordingly put in execution. 

Frederick paid a visit on the following day to the field 
of battle, and saw with astonishment the almost miracu- 
lous successes of his army ; the Prince of Dessau, who 
accompanied him, receiving the most flattering eulogies. 
On the 18th of December Frederick entered Dresden, the 
town having surrendered at discretion. A body of mili- 
tia, which had been left in the town after its evacuation 
by the army, was disarmed, and employed, together with 
other prisoners, in completing the Prussian army. Fred- 
erick, immediately after entering, proceeded to the palace, 
where King Augustus's children still remained. He 
endeavored to console them : and as they kissed his hand, 
embraced them affectionately, assuring them that they 
should be secured in all the honors due to their rank ; 
at the same time placing the palace-guard at their com- 
mand. He treated the ministers with the same courtesy, 
and in the evening visited the theatre, where the opera of 
Arminia was performed. This was one of the operas in 
which Brlihl strove to pander to the passions of the king. 

It contained an allusion to the league between King 
Augustus and Maria Theresa. But the singers prudently 
omitted the chorus which was intended to allude to 
Frederick's conduct, the moral of which was now applica- 
ble to King Augustus himself ; one passage denouncing as 
guilty that ambition which sought to erect a throne upon 
the ruins of foreign power. Frederick was present, the 
following day at a solemn Te Deum, which was sung in 
the Kreuzkirche. 

The negotiations now progressed with somewhat more 
expedition, as an ambassador had been sent by the Aus- 
trian cabinet to Dresden, and peace was concluded at the 
latter city on the 25th of December. The various ar- 
ticles of the Breslau treaty were introduced into it, but 
Saxony was forced to pay Prussia a subsidy of a milliou 



174 FREDEPJCK THE GRE^T. 

of thalers ; Frederick recognizing the election of the 
Grand-Duke Francis to the imperial purple. 

On the 28th of December Frederick made his solemn 
entry into Berlin, amidst the enthusiastic shouts of his 
subjects, who hailed their youthful monarch as a hero. 
He was met by various processions, and conducted with- 
in the walls amidst cries of " Long live the king ! Long 
live Frederick the Great ! " 

The king, who was pensive and deeply moved, returned 
the salutations with which he was on every side heartily 
greeted, betraying at the same time the greatest anxiety 
to prevent any accident occurring to those who crowded 
round his chariot. The town Avas brilliantly illuminated 
from evening until break of day ; and thousands of de- 
vices were displaj^ed at the windows, almost every house 
bearing the inscription, " Vivat Fredericus Magnus ! " 
Military salutes were fired during the whole night, while 
the crowds of people that filled the streets made the 
welkin ring with their joyous acclamations. 

Frederick had proceeded, in the company of his brothers, 
through the streets during the evening, in order to be a 
spectator of the rejoicings of his people : but he had a 
dear and sad office likewise in view. In a retired street 
he stopped his carriage, entered a house, and ascended 
its narrow staircase. This was the residence of his old 
and faithful tutor, Duhan, whom he found confined to his 
bed in the last stage of sickness. Frederick approached 
the couch of the dying man : " Beloved Duhan," said he, 
what pain it gives me to find you in this state ! Would 
to God that I could procure your convalescence or as- 
suage your sufferings ; you should then see what sacri- 
fices my gratitude would be ready to make." " To have 
once again beheld your majesty," replied Duhan, " is the 
dearest consolation which I could have possibly desired. 
Now I shall die more happily." He made a motion to 
grasp the king's hand and imprint a kiss upon it. Fred- 
erick would not permit him, but bidding him farewell, in 
the deepest sorrow, hurried away. On the following day 



CONCLUSION OF THE SECOND SILESIAN WAE, 1^5 

Duhan expired. There were others, too, unable to con- 
gratulate Frederick on his successes. His best friends, 
Jordan and Keyserling, had died during the foregoing 
year. " They were my family," said Frederick, announc- 
ing their death to Duhan. " I consider myself now child- 
less and fatherless, and in deeper mourning of heart than 
any dress could indicate. Take care of your health, and 
remember that you are now the last of the friends I have 
left me." Frederick took a father's care of the children 
of the deceased. 

The war between Austria and France continued un- 
abated, and only terminated on the 18th of October, 1748, 
in the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, when Frederick received 
a new guarantee for his possession of Silesia. His posi- 
tion as regarded the King of France was by no means of 
a friendly character, although the treaty existing between 
them was not to expire until the year 1756. Frederick 
had had recourse to the King of France for aid on the 
approach of the dangers impending from Austria and 
Saxony, but had received an answer in which unfriendly 
feelings were but thinly disguised in phrases of empty 
courtesy. The victory at Dresden was accordingly an- 
nounced in a similar style, and, to use the words of an 
English ambassador, who was negotiating with Frederick 
previous to the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, and addressed 
by him to his cabinet : " The king's heart is truly German, 
despite the French filagree which decks its surface." 



176 FPiEDERICK THE GREAT. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Frederick's administration up to the seven years' 



WAR. 



Much of Frederick's attention was now engrossed by- 
cares for the internal welfare of his people. His exertions, 
his advice were ever ready at hand ; and the eleven years 
of peace, which now succeeded, produced such indubitable 
proofs of the prosperity which his government had every- 
where diffused, that he had good reason to feel satisfied 
with the fruits of his labors. 

Through the conquest of Silesia, he had added a third 
to the extent of his kingdom ; but he was fully as zealous 
in making equally extensive conquests in the heart of his 
own empire. Waste lands were reclaimed and colonized ; 
and, in the year 1746, those stupendous works were com- 
menced, which converted the marshes of Oberthal into 
arable and pasture land. On the completion of these 
works, Frederick could with justice exclaim, as he stood 
upon the dam of Oberthal, and surveyed the flowery 
meads that had sprung up, as it were, by enchantment : 
" There is a principality which I have won, and which 
needs no soldiers for its defence.*' 

With a view to advance internal navigation, several 
canals were cut, connecting some of the principal 
rivers. A harbor was constructed at Swinemiinde, and 
Stettin thereby elevated to the rank of an important sea- 
port. Emden was declared a free port, and an Asiatic 
and Bengal trading company was there chartered. Still 
greater exertions were made for the advancement of manu^ 



FREDERICK'S ADMINISTRATION. I'TV 

factures and trade, and the population and revenue of 
the Prussian state soon increased to a very considerable 
extent. 

Frederick bestowed particular attention on a reform in 
the administration of justice. The state of the law called 
loudly for amendment. Thousands of abuses had crept 
in, and suits lingered on from year to year, wrapped in 
such a maze of technicalities, that it was wholly impos- 
sible to obtain the desired relief ; whilst the expenses at- 
tending the institution of the legal proceedings had be- 
come ruinously large. This state of things naturally 
awakened in Frederick the most unlimited disgust, and 
he resolved to interfere with promptitude, and apply 
some strong remedy to these abuses. His views were ably 
seconded by his minister, Cocceji, a man fully equal to 
the task of amending the defects in the Prussian code. 
An experiment was made in the province of Pomerania, 
where particular disorder was known to exist in the ad- 
ministration of justice ; and the result was, that in the 
short period of eight months, an enormous number of 
lawsuits, amounting to two thousand four hundred, some 
of which had been pending for years, were decided ; so 
that not one single suit of longer duration than one year 
remained undetermined. A particular code was then 
]3repared for Pomerania, and Frederick was so satisfied 
with the fruits of Cocceji's labors, that he nominated him 
his high-chancellor, and commissioned him to effect a 
judicious reform throughout the whole Prussian 
monarchy. Cocceji, despite his advanced age, devoted 
himself with the most unwearying perseverance to this 
gigantic task, and in one year succeeded in removing all 
such judges and advocates as were inefficient, from their 
different posts, and supplying their places with men of 
acknowledged ability. In pursuance of Frederick's plan, 
an ordinance was published, limiting the duration of a 
lawsuit to one year. At length, the most arduous part of 
the undertaking, namely, the reducing of the law to clear 
and determinate principles, was effected ; and in the yeay 



178 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

1749, the draft of a new Prussian code, entitled, "Draft 
of the Corpus Juris Fredericiani," appeared. Frederick, 
in commemoration of these beneficial reforms, which be- 
came the subject of wonder and imitation throughout the 
whole of Europe, had a medal struck off, on which the 
Goddess of Justice was represented, holding in her hands 
a pair of scales, one of which was considerably depressed, 
whilst Frederick was in the act of restoring equilibrium 
by laying his sceptre in the other. Cocceji received one 
of these medals in gold, together with many other proofs 
of royal approl)ation. Frederick told him, that his vir- 
tues and integrity were worthy of the most glorious days 
of the Roman republic, and his learning and wisdom such 
as to fit him, like a second Trebonian, for the task of legis- 
lating with advantage for his fellow-men. 

The peculiar constitution of the Prussian state rendered 
unceasing attention to the aftairs of the army absolutely 
essential. Frederick never relaxed in his exertions for 
the improvement and discipline of his troops; large 
camps were formed every year, and the most comphcated 
manoeuvres executed. The infantry were exercised in 
the various evolutions requisite for attack and defence ; 
in pontooning and the usual routine of military tactics. 
Particular care was likewise bestowed upon the cavalry, 
and Frederick labored unceasingly to render this arm of 
the service worthy of its calling and its great importance 
in war. Not content with officers trained in the Prus- 
sian school, he summoned some of the most distinguished 
cavalry-officers from Hungary, to instruct his men in all 
such manoeuvres as required a combination of superior 
daring and skill. Immediately after the second Silesian 
war in 1746, a large camp was formed at Potsdam. Fred- 
erick proposed rewards for such hussars as distinguished 
themselves by their courage and stratagems ; and the fol- 
lowing anecdote will throw some light upon the nature 
of these exercises, while it illustrates the innate goodness 
of Frederick's heart. He had, in order to keep the offi- 
cers and men stationed at the outposts always on the ^vi 



FREDERICK'S ADMIISTISTRATION, 179 

vive^ given instructions to the hussars to hover round the 
outskirts of the camp, and carry off the shakos of such 
men as they found off their guard ; a ducat being offered 
for each shako so taken. An aged officer of Cuirassiers, 
Major Leopold, overpowered by the heat and his exertions 
during the day's manoeuvres, had set up a camp-chair in 
the middle of his troop, and incautiously fell asleep. A 
hussar observing the circumstance crept softly forward, 
and carrying oft' the shako of the slumbering warrior, 
brought it to the king. The latter inquired to w^hom the 
shako belonged, evidently much displeased at the mis- 
conduct of the owner ; but, on hearing the name of the 
officer, his brow quickly relaxed. The following morn- 
ing he summoned the major to his presence : the latter 
entered much depressed, and the king advancing towards 
him, addressed him in a friendly tone. " Look ye," said 
Frederick, threatening him with his finger; "no one 
should sleep upon guard ; you will act most prudently 
by quitting the service, as you are so advanced in years. 
I shall give you a pension of five hundred thalers. You 
have a son in the regiment, an ensign — have you not ? " 
The major replied in the affirmative. " Your son," con- 
tinued the king, " is likely to become an able officer ; but 
in order to prevent him from imitating the bad example 
of his father and sleeping upon his post, I shall take him 
with me to Potsdam as a corne of the guard." 

The most remarkable of these manoeuvres was a grand 
one held at Spandau in 1753, to which several foreign 
personages of distinction, together with all the principal 
general officers in the Prussian army, were invited. Xone 
but such as were specially invited were permitted to be 
present, as Frederick did not wish to have the results of 
his own experience made indiscriminately public. The 
piquets were posted as in actual warfare ; and the patrols 
had orders to connnit some slight depredations on the 
persons of such over- curious individuals as transgressed 
the king's injunctions. This tended to heighten the 
general interest and curiosity felt by the public; and 



150 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

Frederick published a mock account of the manoeuvres, 
in which he drew largely on his fancy, but which was 
received by many as a valuable contribution to the science 
of military tactics. 

In matters of religion, Frederick was faithful to those 
I)rinciples and maxims which he had already enunciated 
in his writings. " Religious intolerance is a tyrant that 
depopulates a land; but religious liberty is a tender 
mother that cherishes and fosters her children." And, 
in truth, his adherence to these principles contributed 
materially to the prosperity of his states. Frederick 
paid, no doubt, more attention to the matter than the 
form of any creed ; but we have sufficient evidence of the 
deeply religious tone of his mind and the strength of his 
religious sentiments, although he might at times give 
utterance to an expression derisive of things which are 
generally considered sacred. One of the best proofs of 
our assertion is the prayer which he ordered to be 
offered up during the second Silesian war, both by the 
army and in the churches. This prayer had been hith- 
erto as follows :— " But, especially, we recommend unto 
thee, O God, his majesty, our most beloved king; " (here 
the king's name was particularly mentioned.) Fred- 
erick had objected to this formula, even while prince 
royal ; this pompous display of earthly grandeur, whilst 
addressing the Supreme Being, appeared to him to be as 
improper as the particularizing by name the subject of 
the prayer was superfluous. He therefore directed that 
the following words should be substituted for the fore- 
going : " Especially, we recommend unto thee, O God, 
thy servant, our king." 

As Silesia was an eminently Catholic land, Frederick 
had a full opportunity for the exercise of that religious 
toleration which he advocated ; and, indeed, he proved as 
considerate a father to his new Catholic subjects, as he 
had hitherto been to his Protestant children ; he naturally 
required that this feeling should be reciprocated, in order 
to embrace all denominations of his subjects in one bon^ 



FREDERICK'S ADMINISTRATION. 181 

of unity and love. The pope was highly pleased with 
Frederick's treatment of his Silesian subjects, and did 
not omit to give him proofs of his approbation ; and with 
this view he admonished Cardinal Sinzendorff's successor, 
Count Schaffgotsch, to consult in every way the wishes 
of a prince so well disposed towards the Catholic Church. 
His holiness was particularly pleased at Frederick's grant- 
ing permission to the Catholics of Berlin to erect a splen- 
did church in that city, and his presenting them with a 
suitable plot of ground and a portion of the building- 
materials. On the loth July, 1747, the foundation-stone 
was laid for this edifice, amidst all the pomp and cere- 
mony prescribed by the Catholic ritual, in the presence 
of a royal commissioner. 

But Frederick did not in the meanwhile forget his 
high vocation as the most powerful Protestant prince of 
Germany, and the protection which it was his duty to 
afford to the Protestant church. The hereditary prince 
of Hesse-Cassel had embraced the Catholic faith ; Fred- 
rick, in common with the King of England, guaranteed 
to the estates the continuance of the evangelical creed as 
the state religion. He likewise stipulated that the future 
sovereigns of Wurtemberg should profess the evangelical 
creed, on the intermarriage of the Catholic prince, Eugene 
of Wurtemburg, with a Prussian princess. The Protes- 
tants of Hungary enjoyed his special protection at their 
own suit. He even addressed a protest to the cabinet of 
Vienna, in which he distinctly declared himself the pro- 
tector of Protestantism ; and threatened the queen with 
making reprisals on the Catholics of Silesia for any severi- 
ties inflicted on the Protestants of Hungary. In Vienna 
his representations were received with anything but ap- 
proval : it was even asserted that no religious wrongs 
existed in Hungary. As these remonstrances proved in- 
effectual, and as the Hungarian Protestants were sub- 
jected to still greater persecutions after the close of the 
second Silesian war ; on the appearance of a pamphlet 
from the Bishop of Vesprim, in which the queen was 



182 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

in terms required to annihilate the Hungarian heretics, 
Frederick, in the year 1751, sent a serious remonstrance 
to the Prince- Bishop of Breslau, requiring liim to inter- 
fere. This document is full of the deepest feeling. Fred- 
erick shows clearly that his only motive was religious 
toleration, as he could owe but little gratitude to the 
Hungarians ; inasmuch as they had committed the greatest 
depredations upon him during the late wars ; and further 
depicts the melancholy consequences that must ensue 
from the imitation by Protestant sovereigns of the con- 
duct pursued by Austria toward subjects of a different 
persuasion. The prince-bishop applied to the pope ; and 
the interference of the latter caused the barbarous pam- 
phlet of the Hungarian bishop to be withdrawn from 
circulation. 

The severity with which the Hungarian Protestants 
were treated, and the reluctance displayed by the court 
of Vienna to accede to Frederick's demands, gave rise to 
a rather amusing incident, in the shape of a reprisal, and 
evinces the humorous, rather than harsh nature of Fred- 
erick's heart. It occurred in the year 1750. Frederick 
was one day walking in the gardens of Potsdam, when he 
met a young man, in rather an unusual garb, and on in- 
quiring, was informed that his name was Hedhessi ; that 
he was of the reformed faith ; an Hungarian ; had studied 
theology at Frankfort on the Oder ; and had been anxious 
to see the capital of Prussia before returning to his native 
land. Frederick conversed with him, and being pleased 
Avith the ready, rational answers which he received to his 
questions, proposed to him to remain in Prussia, and 
promised to provide for him. The candidate being 
obliged for family reasons to reject this offer, Frederick 
told him, as he could not remain, that he was at liberty to 
demand some favor of him. The candidate could think 
of no request which he wished to make of the King of 
of Prussia. " Can you think, then, of no favor," repeated 
Frederick, " which I can grant you ? " " One thing your 
iJ^jesty," replied the candidate, " could do for me, per- 



FREDERICK'S ADMINISTRATION. 183 

haps, if you would graciously condescend. I have pur- 
chased several theological and philosophical works, which 
I knoAv are forbidden in Vienna, and which will certainly 
be taken from me, as the Jesuits superintend the revision 
of books, and they are strict. If your majesty would but 
graciously " " Take the books," said Frederick, inter- 
rupting him, " in God's name, with you ; and purchase 
such others as you think most strictly forbidden in 
Vienna, but of use to you ; and, do you hear ? should they 
take the books from you in Vienna, tell them that I have 
made you a present of them. The fathers will not re- 
spect them the more on that account, but that is no matter. 
Give up the books, but go directly to my ambassador, and 
tell him the whole of what I tell you. Afterwards go to 
the best hotel, and live in right expensive style. Never 
spend less than a dvicat a day, and remain there until the 
books are sent back to you, as I will take care they shall be. 
Rely upon my word — but never spend less than a ducat 
a day." The king then ordered him to wait ; went into 
the palace, and returned with a slip of paper, and upon it 
the words, " The bearer to remain at our expense in Vienna. 
Frederick." The king commanded the candidate to 
present this paper to the ambassador, again reminded 
him not to spare money, and promising to obtain for him 
the best living in Hungary, wished him a happy journey. 
It turned out just as had been foreseen : the books were 
taken from the candidate on his arrival in Vienna and 
confiscated. Hedhessi applied to the Prussian ambas- 
sador, who had already received instructions to conduct 
the candidate to the best hotel, and then report to the 
king how matters stood. The king immediately issued 
orders that the valuable library of the Breslau Jesuits 
should be closed, and sentries posted at the doors. The 
Jesuits were completely confounded, as no one could as- 
sign any reason for this act of royal displeasure. They 
therefore resolved on sending a deputation to Potsdam. 
On arriving there the deputation was obliged to wait 
several weeks before the member3 were admitted to the 



184^ FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

royal presence, and on their obtaining an audience, Fred- 
erick referred them to his ambassador at Vienna, and 
gave them a letter of introduction to the commissaries 
superintending the revision of books in Vienna. 

They were therefore obliged to return to Breslau with- 
out having effected their object, and then to send a 
second deputation to Vienna. The Prussian minister in 
that capital expressed to them his great regret at not being 
able to give them any information on the subject, but 
informed them that there was a young Hungarian stop- 
ping at an hotel in the city, from whom the Jesuits had 
taken a box of books. A sudden light now broke in upon 
the deputies, and hardly an hour elapsed before Hedhessi 
was in possession of his books. But before leaving 
Vienna they had to pay the candidate's expenses at the 
hotel. They now hastened back to Potsdam, where they 
were received m the most gracious manner by the king, 
who gave them a cabinet-order for the reopening of their 
library. The rector at the same time received a special 
letter from Frederick, stating that in the event of Hed- 
hessi, or his family, or the Hungarians in general being 
insulted or persecuted, or if the candidate did not receive 
the best parish in Hungary, the Jesuits' college at Bres- 
lau would be held responsible for the same. But every- 
thing was managed agreeably to the king's wishes. 

The architectural embellishment of his palaces was an 
object of Frederick's particular care, regarding it as a 
means of bringing the coin of the realm into more general 
circulation amongst the lower orders. He consequently 
felt comparatively little annoyance when the Charlotten- 
burg palace was burnt down in 1747 ; and, amidst the 
general confusion which prevailed, Frederick quietly 
paced the terrace in front of the palace, remarking : "It 
is a misfortune— but the artisans of Berlin will earn 
something by it." His only care was that no one should 
be injured in attempts to save the building. The edifice 
containing the valuable collections of the Academy of 
Arts and Sciences had also fallen a prey to the flames in 



FREDERICK'S ADMINISTRATION. 185 

the year 1742, but a spacious building, devoted to the 
same purpose, was soon erected in its stead ; to which 
other handsome structures were in a short time added. 

We have already mentioned the erection of the Opera- 
house; we must now mention that of the Invaliden- 
house, an extensive building, constructed soon after the 
conclusion of the second Silesian war. A new cathedral 
was likewise erected in the Lustgarten, at Berlin, which 
was consecrated in September, 1750. The old cathedral 
had served as the sepulchre of the reigning family ; but 
on the completion of the new edifice it was devoted to 
this purpose, and the coffins of the departed members of 
the royal house of Brandenburg were conveyed to their 
allotted places of rest within its Avails. Frederick was 
present at this solemn translation ; and on the coffin of 
the Great Elector being brought in he had it opened. 
There lay the Elector in his robes of state, wrapped in 
the electoral mantle, and wearing the peruke which he 
had adopted toward the close of his life ; round his neck 
was a large frill, while richly- worked gloves and yellow 
boots completed the costume of the deceased monarch. 
His features were still to be recognized, and Frederick 
long surveyed this beloved corse in silence ; then, with 
the tears starting in his eyes, seizing the Elector's left 
hand, and turning towards his suite, he exclaimed with 
deep emotion : " Gentlemen, this man wrought much." 

INTot in Berlin only, but in other cities, particularly in 
Potsdam, various buildings were erected at Frederick's 
expense. Both these cities were likewise embellished by 
the construction of a considerable number of private resi- 
dences for the citizens. Of the Palace of Sans-souci, at Pots- 
dam, we shall have occasion to speak more particularly 
hereafter. Frederick frequently drew the plans for the 
buildings himself, and the works of Palladio, Piranesi, and 
other masters supplied him with the ideas. The architects 
had sometimes no very enviable task in carrying out the 
designs of this royal dilettante. 

His patronage was likewise extended to the stage j the 



ISe FREDERICK THE GREAT, 

opera and ballet were much cultivated, and became the 
leading recreations of Berlin. The best singers and dancers 
were engaged, and amongst others the fciscinating danseuse 
Signora Barbarina, whose personal attractions and refined 
parts were so enthusiastically admired, and to whom roy- 
alty itself did not refuse its homage. Frederick was in 
the habit of taking tea with her after the conclusion of the 
opera ; and sometimes even invited her to supper amidst 
a select circle of his friends. This was a singular tribute 
of respect, as about this period he held hardly any inter- 
course except with male friends. At the present day 
there are several portraits of the lovely danseuse, painted 
by Pesne, to be found in the royal palaces at Berlin and 
Potsdam, in which she is drawn in various positions, gen- 
erally in a dancing attitude, with a tiger's skin suspended 
over her shoulders, and the tympan, which she flourishes 
in her hand, marking the character of a bacchanal. Even 
in the great historical paintings which were executed un- 
der Frederick's orders her features are discernible. This 
lady, who first came to Berlin in 1744, where, in 1749, she 
married the son of the high-chancellor, from whom, how- 
ever, she was subsequently divorced, was raised to the 
rank of countess, but not until after Frederick's death. 

Frederick devoted his particular and personal attention 
to the interests of the stage. He was present at many of 
the rehearsals, and even took part in the management. 
He himself wrote many librettos, and composed several 
musical pieces. But it must be recollected that in Fred- 
erick's time the stage was essentially an appurtenance of 
the court, and its principal province was to heighten the 
splendor of court pageantry. Many descriptions have 
reached us of those pageants, which carry us back to the 
merry enjoyments of that happy period. A f estiv al vrhich 
Frederick arranged in honor of his sister, the Princess 
Auguste of Baireuth, on the 25th of August, 1745, is one 
of the most memorable. An equestrian tournament was 
held in the Lustgarten, at Berlin, by night ; the whole 
space bemg encircled by platforms for spectators, and lit 



FREDERICK'S ADMINISTRATION. 187 

Tip by myriads of lamps. Four bands of knights, in cos- 
tumes sparkling with gold, silver, and precious stones, and 
clad as Romans, Carthaginians, Greeks, and Persians, each 
headed by one of the royal princes, advanced by torchlight, 
and entered the lists. The Princess Amelia, one of Fred- 
erick's younger sisters, distributed the prizes, and Voltaire 
who was then present in Berlin, composed some elegant 
verses in honor of the champions and the fair umpire. 
Frederick was so satisfied that he subsequently arranged 
a repetition of the festival by daylight. 

The same year another but somewhat different spectacle 
was presented in Berlin in honor of a Tartar aga who 
arrived as the representative of the Crim Tartar, the Sul- 
tan of Budziak, to pay homage to the King of Prussia, 
whose fame had already reached those distant parts. 

Frederick was the soul of every measure for the im- 
provement of the administration, the discipline of the 
army, social intelligence, and, in short, everything apper- 
taining to the general weal. We have already alluded to 
this subject, and shall here particularize his exertions 
more closely. The spirit of his government was purely 
monarchical, as it had been under his father, but his 
energy and talents gave it strength and permanence. In 
place of the chambers, which had hitherto aided the 
monarch as a deliberative council, officers were now ap- 
pointed, whose duty was confined to the mere execution 
of the monarch's orders. All affairs of state passed 
immediately under the eye of the king. Seated alone in 
his chamber, he took personal cognizance of everything 
passing ; the cabinet-ministers merely submitting the 
various matters to his notice in order to learn his 
pleasure, while the other ministers attended to the ex- 
ecutive, according to the different departments over 
which they presided. Frederick was guided in this by a 
consciousness of his own powers, and a sincere desire to 
be the most active in providing for the welfare of his 
people. The most insignificant of his subjects were 
permitted to have recourse to him, and none but those 



1S8 FREDERICK THE GREAT. ' 

whose propositions bore absurdity on the face of them 
had need to be apprehensive of neglect. He considered 
the state as an artificially constructed machine, each mem- 
ber of which was bound, according to the position which 
he held, to provide for the welfare of the whole. In his 
own hand he held the various threads which kept the 
entire machine in its proper motion. He examined every- 
thing, was aware of everything, and his extraordinary 
memory alone preserved him, as far as it is possible for 
erring nature to be preserved, from the danger of making 
dispositions at variance, at least in subordinate points, 
with the settled organization of the state. 

History has preserved many characteristic traits illus- 
trative of the mode in which he directed the whole ma- 
chinery of state, by a minute control of its most subor- 
dinate parts, and which likewise fully evidence how en- 
tirely his heart was set upon the welfare of his people. 
We shall here record but one of the many instances of his 
thorough knowledge of the most trifling details connected 
with the administration of affairs, and at the same time of 
the sterling qualities of his heart. A document was once 
laid before him for signature, confirmatory of a justice of 
the peace in his office. On reading the name, the king 
paused and desired the minister to be summoned. To 
him he expressed considerable annoyance at the selection 
of such an individual, whilst the minister endeavored to 
defend the appointment, by recounting the high qualfica- 
tions of the persons elected. The king desired that a par- 
ticular document should be brought him from one of the 
law offices ; and after perusing it addressed the minister : 
— " Look ye, this man has carried on a lawsuit with his 
own mother about a few acres of land ; and she has been 
obliged on her very death-bed to take an oath respecting 
such a paltry matter. How could I expect from a man 
with such a heart, that he should care for the welfare 
of my people ! Away with this thing ; let another be 
chosen ! " 

Such extraordinary mental activity, amidst no unfre- 



FREDERICKS ADMINISTRATION. 189 

quent interruptions, arising from the attention he be- 
stowed both on art and science, would nevertheless have 
been unavailing, if not seconded by the careful husbandry 
of every moment of his time. A register lay upon his 
table, in which his various duties were noted. His sub- 
division of time admitted of no deviation from its fixed 
routine. His constitution requiring but little sleep, he 
commenced his labors at break of day : the forenoon was 
entirely devoted to affairs of state, whilst the greater part 
of the afternoon was consecrated to social enjoyment and 
study. It is rather singular, that he filled up the pauses, 
intervening between his different occupations, by play- 
ing on the flute ; generally, during those intervals pacing 
his chamber, and extemporizing on that instrument. He 
told a friend, that whilst so engaged, he has been often 
weighing different matters in his mind, without attending 
to the tones he was evoking ; and that frequently some 
of his happiest thoughts occurred to him whilst thus em- 
ployed. Thus we see that it was art, which, perhaps 
without being aware of it himself, expanded the energies 
of his mind, and sustained his spirit in its native strength. 
As each day had its peculiar destination, so each year 
was devoted to some particular object. The principal 
epochs consisted of his travels, and the reviews of his 
troops, in the distant provinces. These tours were fraught 
with much good for all parts of his kingdom ; for he not 
only looked after his troops, but everything connected 
with the administration of the provinces. Rapidly as he 
travelled he always halted sufficiently long at different 
points to allow of conversation with the various officials, 
Avho were expressly commanded to meet him, and were 
sometimes required to accompany him a part of the way. 
He was also glad to meet merchants and men of business 
on such occasions, and entered with much interest into 
their affairs. On the Silesian highlands, he addressed the 
deputies of the mercantile classes as follows : " Only apply 
to me ; I am your prime minister." Even the time which 
he passed in his carriage was not lost. If there were 



190 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

nothing on the road to interest his attention^ he employed 
himself in reading ; and if prevented by the jolting of the 
carriage from being thus occupied, he was in the habit of 
reciting passages from his favorite poets, with whose 
works his memory was richly stored. 



THE FELLLO^PHEE OF ftANjft^iOUCI. 191 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE PHILOSOPHER OF SANS-SOUCI. 

Before setting out for the second Silesian war, Fred- 
erick had been so captivated by the beauty of the scenery 
round Potsdam, that he resolved on erecting a palace 
there ; and had himself drawn the plans. The side of a 
hill was cut into six terraces, and the foundation-stone 
of the palace, which was to crown this eminence, laid in 
April, 1745. This palace, which Avas completed in two 
years, received the name of Sans-souci. It was immedi- 
ately adopted by Frederick as his place of residence, and 
formed his retreat from the cares of life, and the scene 
of his social enjoyments, up to the hour of his death. 
Frederick's name is inseparably connected with that of 
Sans-souci. All his private letters written here are 
dated from Sans-souci, whilst those on business are dated 
from Potsdam. In his literary works, which he published 
during his life, he calls himself '^The Philosopher of 
Sans-souci." His residence at this palace resembled that 
at Rheinsberg, with the exception of the buoyancy of 
youth being now gone. Rheinsberg, which was too dis- 
tant for royal residence, had been presented by him to his 
younger brother, who now occupied it. 

The scenery round Potsdam presenting, as it does, bold 
sheets of water, deeply embosomed within shady groves, 
with rippling streams, that seem to sport round the basis 
of each verdant height, forms a delightful oasis amidst 
the sandy flats of Mark Brandenburgh. From the period 
of Frederick's residing there, the princes of his line have 



192 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

never ceased to heighten the charms of nature T)y the 
cherishing and ordering hand of art. Grassy lawns en- 
circle the town, palaces and villas now glitter on hill and 
dale; exhilarating and refreshing odors are wafted far 
and wide on the zephyrs ; but the residence of the great 
king remains untouched ; and to this day recollections of 
him, who has long since passed away, seem borne on every 
breeze that sweeps those winding terraces. 

Frederick associated with the name of ' Sans-souci,' a 
hidden, deeper meaning. Beside the palace, he had con- 
structed a vault, which was one day to receive his mortal 
remains. It was lined with marble, and its purpose play- 
fully veiled by a statue of Flora reclining on a polished 
slab. This vault, the existence of which no one dreamed, 
was properly speaking, that to which the name ' Sans- 
souci ' alluded. He once mentioned this in conversation to 
a friend and said, alluding to the vault, " Quand je serai 
la, je serai sans souci." From the windovv^s of his bed- 
chamber he could daily gaze upon the guardian of his 
grave, the goddess Flora. 

Several anecdotes connected with Sans-souci are told, 
which throw light upon the peculiar character of this 
rare king. The historj^ of the windmill, which stands 
beside the palace, and the land around it, which Fred- 
erick wished to have included in his garden-grounds, is 
\Ye\l known. Frederick, we are told, had the miller sum- 
moned to his presence, and inquired how much he required 
for his mill. The latter replied, that he had inherited it 
from his father, and he wished it to descend as an heir- 
loom to his children. The king promised him to build 
him a better mill in another place, with water-power, 
and everything free of expense, and to pay him down 
such further sums as he might demand. But the miller 
remained unalterable in his resolution. Frederick be- 
came angry. " Know you not," said he, in a threatening 
tone, " that I can take your mill from you, without 
giving you a farthing?" "Yes," replied the miller, 
" provided there was no such thing as a council-chamber 



THE PHILOSOPHEPw OF SANS-SOUCI. 193 

In Berlin." On recehing this reply, Frederick no longer 
persisted in his demand, and altered the plan of the 
garden. To this day the arms of this mill sweep over 
the royal palace, a memorial of the submission of a king 
to his own laws. The other anecdotes are pretty similar. 

In Sans-souci Frederick drew around him men of con- 
genial sentiments and minds. To such of his old friends 
as still survived, and who had once brightened the happy 
days of his Rheinibberg retreat, others equally valued 
were soon added. Amongst the latter we must especially 
notice the Marquis D'Argent, a native of Provence, who 
found an asylum here from the persecutions to which he 
was exposed in his own country ; his agreeable manners, 
cultivated taste, and above all, his faithful and entire de- 
votion to the king, procured him in return such esteem, 
that he soon occupied the same place in Frederick's 
heart which Jordan had once filled. Frederick's literary 
secretary, Darschet, was equally remarkable for his 
fidelity and attachment. As an old and valued friend, 
we must likewise mention Baron PoUnitz, who had 
served under King Frederick I., and whose varied tal- 
ents and inexhaustible conversational powers strongly 
recommended him ; but owing to the volatility of his 
character, he never gained Frederick's entire confidence. 
He had, in 1744, completely forfeited the king's patron- 
age through his inconsiderate acts ; and was only again 
received into favor after formally signing certain strict 
conditions. . These latter consisted in a promise never to 
hold any intercourse with any ambassador ; never again 
to disturb the pleasures of the royal table ; and in Berlin 
it was publicly forbidden to lend him even the most 
trifling sum of money, under a penalty of a hundred 
ducats. Pollnitz was a species of court buffoon ; and the 
French surgeon, T>e la Metric, figured in a somewhat 
similar capacity in Sans-souci. 

The king's military friends formed likewise a part of 
this social circle, but were never permitted to forget the 
duties they owed the service. Professional faults were 



194 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

severely censured ; but this censure did not affect tb© 
friendship that subsisted between them and their monarch. 
Winterfeld enjoyed the king's special favor ; but being 
adjutant-general, his time was altogether occupied in 
business. Count-Rothenburg, who had received several 
T\'ounds at the battle of Craslan, became a second Keyser- 
ling to Frederick. He likewise died early, and his death 
revived all the pangs which the king had experienced at 
the loss of his beloved Keyserling. Frederick exhibited 
the most marked sympathy for Rothenburg during his 
last illness. It was in the month of December that he 
received intelligence that the count was on his death-bed. 
Half-dressed as he was, he rushed across the street to his 
friend's lodging, where finding the physician in despair, 
Frederick wept, and on its being proposed that, as a last 
resource, the patient should be bled, he held the basin 
during the operation. As this was not attended with the 
desired effect, Frederick left the dying man, and giving 
way to his feelings of grief, did not appear in society for 
several days. 

Colonel De Forgade, who had been wounded in the 
battle of Soor, received many marks of Frederick's favor 
in consideration of his high merits. As the colonel was 
one day present at a levee in the Berlin palace, paying 
his respects to the king, he happened to lean against the 
window to support himself, being lamed by a wound in 
the foot, which Frederick perceiving brought him a chair, 
and addressing him, said : " My dear Colonel De ForQade 
a man of your worth and valor deserves that even a king 
should bring him a chair." 

Frederick attached much importance to the acquisition 
which he made in gaining two men, one of whom he re- 
spected as much as he esteemed the other. We allude 
to the two brothers Keith, natives of Scotland, who had 
left their native country in consequence of their attach- 
ment to the Stuarts. The younger of the two, James, had 
been immediately invested with the rank of field-marshal 
he having been the first to enter Frederick's service ; the 



THE PHILOSOPHER OF SANS-SOUCI. 195 

elder brother, Greorge Keith, who had been Earl-marshal 
of Scotland, came some time afterwards, and was one of 
the few whom fate spared to gladden Frederick's declin- 
ing years. 

The venerable field-marshal Schwerin, who had left the 
army on the close of the second Silesian war, was likewise 
induced to rejoin the service. Frederick made the first 
advances towards a reconciliation by inviting Schwerin 
to pay him a visit. The latter obeyed the summons, and 
on arriving at the palace, and learning that the king was 
in good humor, he announced his presence through the 
offlcer-in- waiting. The officer received no reply to his 
announcement : on the contrary, Frederick took up his 
flute, and paced his chamber for a quarter of an hour ex- 
temporizing ; then, laying it down, he girt on his sword, 
and desired the marshal to be ushered into his i3resence. 
This done, the king received him courteously, and gave 
the attendant a hint to leave the chamber. The latter, on 
reaching the ante-chamber, heard the conversation be- 
tween the king and Schwerin grow gradually louder, and 
at length so violent that he began to feel uneasy as to the 
issue. The storm, however, soon subsided, and the con- 
versation gradually resumed its former subdued tone. The 
door then opened ; Schwerin took his leave, with evident 
gaiety and satisfaction depicted in his looks, and the king 
addressed him in a friendly tone : " Your excellency dines 
with me to-day." From thenceforward the good under- 
standing between the king and his general continued un- 
interrupted. What passed in that hour no third person 
has ever heard. 

With the most unbounded enthusiasm was that man 
greeted by Frederick — whose genius unceasingly, and far 
beyond that of any other, commanded his admiration, and 
whom he made such repeated attempts to attach perma- 
nently to his person — Voltaire. The French poet re- 
ceived, in the year 1749, the following letter from Fred- 
erick : " You are like the white elephant, for whose sake 
the Shah and the Great Mogul war with one another, and 



196 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

which forms one of the titles of him who may be fortu- 
nate enough to win it. If you come here you shall stand 
at the head of my titles : ' Frederick, by the grace of God, 
King of Prussia, Prince Elector of Brandenburg, and 
l^ossessor of Voltaire.' " 

This letter dissolved the ties which bound the poet to 
his home, and he accepted Frederick's oft-repeated invi- 
tation. On the 10th of July he arrived at Sans-souci to 
reside permanently with the king. He was appointed 
lord-chamberlain, knight of the order of Merit, and re- 
ceived the splendid salary of five thousand thalers. Fred- 
erick paid him the most decided homage ; princes, field- 
marshals, and ministers of state vied in courting his 
favor. Voltaire's presence lent a charm to the residence 
of Sans-souci which was everywhere felt. The extraor- 
dinary powers of the poet produced a spirit of emulation 
in all. Poetry and science were imiversally cultivated, 
and princes and princesses sought to realize the ideas of 
the master in the impersonation of his tragedies. All 
etiquette and ceremony was banished from this social 
circle. Voltaire had suflBcient leisure to complete those 
labors which he had been obliged to suspend in France 
in consequence of the restrictions there imposed on the 
liberty of the press. He was free to live as he pleased, 
and was only required to give hilarity by his presence to 
the social evening meetings. These banquets were indeed 
remarkable for " the feast of ipeason and the flow of soul," 
and Voltaire and Frederick stood side by side as in the 
realms of fancy. 

That Voltaire was neither a man to whom Frederick 
could attach himself warmly, nor one for whose moral 
character he could entertain any real respect, was a fact 
sufficiently apparent ; but Frederick had not sought for 
him in the capacity of an intimate friend ; he desired his 
society as a man of congenial powers, and one whose crit- 
ical judgment and refined taste he hoped to render avail- 
able in the execution of his literary labors. Voltaire gladly 
rendered him these services, and Frederick profited con- 



THE PHILOSOPHER OF SANS-SOUCI. 197 

siderably from his intercourse with him. He now com- 
pleted many of those important works which he had 
carelessly composed in intervals of peace, and others, the 
fruits of the literary leisure which he now enjoyed. The 
second portion of his History of His Times, describing the 
second Silesian war, had been written in the year 1746. 
The year following he commenced his Memoirs of the 
House of Brandenburg, portions of which were read 
to the members of the Academy, and printed in their 
Transactions : a handsome edition of this work appeared 
in the year 1751. Several of his minor compositions, 
in poetry and prose, odes, letters in verse, a poem on 
the art of war, and a comic epic, entitled " The Palla- 
dium," were published, in the year 1750, under the 
general title of " The Works of the Philosopher of Sans- 
souci." In these labors he was considerably assisted by 
Voltai;^e. Of the former works, especially the poems, but 
few copies, for private circulation amongst his friends, 
Avere printed. A private prhiting-office had been fitted 
up in the tower of the Berlin palace, from which circum- 
stance such works as were here printed bear on the title- 
page the words : " Au Donjon du Chateau.". The title- 
pages of the poems are further marked — " With the 
privilege of Apollo." 

His hours of recreation were enlivened, as in former 
times, by music as well as literature. The hour before 
supper was generally appropriated to concerts, at which 
Frederick performed on his favorite instrument, the flute. 
At the appointed hour he entered the concert-room with 
the music-books under his arm, and distributed them him- 
self on the different stands. He played none but concert- 
pieces, sometimes of his own composition, and arranged 
by Quantz, who had entered his service immediately on 
his succession to the throne. His performance, especially 
in adagio parts, was peculiarly expressive, and his com- 
positions evince considerable proficiency in the science of 
music ; but his attachment to the strict rules of the art 
was not such as to make him lose sight of the beauties 



198 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

resulting from an absence of technical restraints. He 
ventured to introduce a peculiarity in his recitativo, which 
was attended with the best effect. While once perform- 
ing one of those recitative ' he succeeded in expressing 
the act of weeping so perfectly as to excite universal ad- 
miration. " I pictured to myself," said he, " the mother 
of Coriolanus, as she on her knees implored of her son to 
spare and protect Rome." 

His old master, Quantz, enjoyed special privileges at 
these concerts ; he was the only person who ventured to 
applaud the king's performance, and though he did not 
presume to dispraise, yet by withholding his approbation 
he contrived at times to give vent to his feelings of dis- 
approval. Frederick was once performing one of his own 
compositions, in which several faulty passages occurred. 
Quantz hemmed pretty loudly. Frederick saw his mean- 
ing, but took no notice of the circumstance : a few days 
afterwards he consulted another musician as to the faulty 
passages, and on being set right by the latter he corrected 
the faults, remarking, "We must not give poor Quantz 
a catarrh." 

Thus all the elements of social enjoyment were con- 
centrated at Sans-souci ; but this happy state was destined 
to be speedily interrupted, and that, too, by one whose 
talents had hitherto lent it its chief charms. Voltaire, 
dazzled by the splendor of the position in which Fred- 
erick had placed him, forgot the respect which he owed 
alike to his royal patron and himself. Instead of his 
ambition being satisfied by the honors paid him, he 
became daily more greedy of power, and sought to emploj^ 
the position which he occupied for the annihilation of 
every rival in the World of letters for pecuniary profit 
and the attainment of political importance. He himself 
had recommended a young Frenchman, D'Arnaud, to 
assist the king in his literary labors. But now feeling 
his pride somewhat wounded by the flattering terms in 
which Frederick addressed the youthful poet, he speedily 
procured his dismissal from his post. His jealousy was 



THE PHILOSOPHER OF SANS-SOUCL 199 

still more aroused by the talents of Maupertius, the 
naturalist, who had been likewise on his recommendation 
appointed president of the newly instituted academy. 
Between these two men a itter feud sprang up, which 
every day threatened to explode. A disgusting lawsuit, 
in which Voltaire had been engaged with a Jew mer- 
chant, tended likewise to place his integrity in rather an 
equivocal light. The Jew accused Voltaire of having 
imposed upon him with false jewels ; and although the 
sentence of the court was in favor of the latter, it did not 
altogether clear up the matter. His character was still 
more compromised by his purchasing at low rates, in 
Leipzig, Saxon securities, (in direct contravention of the 
king's edict,) and then, by virtue of his right as a Prus- 
sian subject, demanding payment in full for the same, 
according to the terms of the Dresden treaty. At length 
he forgot himself so completely as to hold intercourse 
with foreign ambassadors, in such a way as Frederick 
could not possibly tolerate in a person holding such inter- 
course with him. All this was observed by Frederick 
with growing disgust, and he sent the poet some serious 
remonstrances which seemed likely to put an end to their 
intercourse forever. Voltaire sought to justify his acts, 
but perceived too clearly that Frederick valued him for 
nothing else than his talents. " I shall want him at the 
utmost," said he, "for another year: we squeeze the 
orange and then throw away the peel." 

Such are the expressions which Frederick is said to 
have used when speaking of Voltaire. The latter at- 
tributed the loss of Frederick's favor to a calumny said 
to have been circulated by Maupertius, who was asserted 
to have given currency to a report, that a general on Fred- 
erick's staff happened to call on Voltaire to request him 
to look through a manuscript which he had just com- 
pleted ; that at the same instant a servant arrived with 
one of Frederick's poem.s, and that Voltaire dismissed the 
general with the words, " My dear friend, some other 



200 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

time : the king has just sent me some of his soiled linen ; 
I will wash yours afterwards." 

Despite these various causes for disagreement, these 
two great spirits could not keep long apart, lleproaclies 
the most violent were followed by expressions of esteem 
the most flattering. Frederick admired the povrers of 
the poet too highly, not to view the former follies of the 
man with much charity. As a proof of tlrls, Vv^e miisl: 
mention a passage from an ode, which he addressed Libout 
this period to Voltaire, seeking to console Iiini for the 
approach of age, by pointing to his grov»^ing reputation. 
The ode closes with the following words : — 

*' How bright the future that awaiteth tliee, 
Whose master mind unveiled each mystery. 
Ages to come at th}' shrine shall bow ! 
The heralds of fame 
Already proclaim 
Immortal art thou ! " 

But new events occurred to widen the breach and bar 
all hopes of reconciliation. Maupertius had promulgated, 
in a learned dissertation, what he considered to be a new 
natural law. Another author insisted that tliis law had 
been long since enunciated bj^ Leibnitz. A hot contest 
ensued, and the Berlin Academy took a decided part in 
favor of its president. This seemed to Yoltaire to be a 
favorable opportunity for striking a deadly blow at the 
reputation of a rival, and accordingly he wrote an anony- 
mous letter, Avhich was eminently calculated to throw 
ridicule on ]\Iaupertius. Frederick, who felt little in- 
clination to see the president of his academy the subject 
of ridicule, wrote a reply, in which the author of the 
anonymous letter was harshly dealt with. A second work 
of Maupertius' called forth from Voltaire a satire, entitled, 
"History of Doctor Akakia:" Frederick had read this 
production in manuscript ; its pohited wit had anmsed 
him much, but he required that the work; should not be 
printed. Voltaire made him a promise to that effect ; 
but the work soon appeared in Dresden, to the great de- 



THE PHILOSOPHER OF SANS-SOUCI. 201 

light of the president's enemies. Frederick was naturally- 
incensed at this conduct of the poet ; although tlie latter 
denied that it had been done with his sanction. How- 
ever, to regain Frederick's favor, he was obliged to sign 
a written declaration, in which he promised to act more 
prudently in future. But the matter did not end here. 
On the 24th of December, 1752, he was forced to look on, 
from his window, whilst the public hangman burnt his 
Akakia in the open street. 

Voltaire was not prepared for such unheard-of igno- 
miny. He packed up his pension-warrant, order, and 
gold chamberlain's key in a parcel, which he sent back 
instantly to Frederick. On the wrapper of the parcel he 
wrote the following lines : — 

" I now restore each token, 
For which I once had fondly strove ; 
As one, whose heart is broken, 
Returns the likeness of his love." 

A letter soon followed the parcel, describing, without 
disguise, the poignant anguish which the poet felt. This 
letter had its desired effect : — on the same day the marks 
of royal favor were returned, and the attempt was once 
more made to renew their former friendship. 

But Voltaire soon saw the impossibility of being again 
restored to Frederick's confidence, and therefore begged 
to be permitted to visit France on a bathing excursion 
This favor was granted him, and he set out from Potsdam 
on the 20th March, 1753. He had, however, hardly ar- 
rived in Leipzig, when he committed new insulting matter 
to the press ; for this he was obliged to atone in Frank- 
fort on the Main. Frederick had directed him, before 
setting out, not to take with him either the warrant, 
order, or key, nor the copy of Frederick's poems which 
the latter had presented him with. This injunction had 
not been heeded, and accordingly, at the instance of the 
Prussian ambassador, he was detained in custody at 
Frankfort for the space of sixteen days, until his luggage 



202 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

arrived from Leipzig. This incident naturally gave rise 
to many a biting satire in verse and prose ; but still, before 
any very long period elapsed, these two men, Voltaire 
and Frederick, had renewed their intercourse. Fred- 
erick could not, however, be again induced either to recall 
Voltaire or re-invest him with the chamberlain's golden 
key. 

Much more clearly than Voltaire did another French 
scholar, D'Alembert, to whom Frederick paid likewise 
much homage, perceive the danger with which propin- 
quity to a throne is fraught for a man of independent 
mind. Whilst Frederick had been making a tour through 
the western provinces of his kingdom, he chanced to meet 
D'Alembert, to whom he made the most flattering pro- 
posals to induce him to take up his residence in Berlin ; 
but these offers were respectfully declined ; D'Alembert 
consenting, however, to accept of a small pension, in con- 
sequence of the many privations to which he Avas ex- 
posed in France. The correspondence which now opened 
between Frederick and D'Alembert is of considerable 
importance. 

After this interview with D'Alembert, Frederick made 
a most agreeable excursion into Holland, mainly with a 
viev/ to examine the treasures of art which were collected 
there, intending to adorn Sans-souci with a large picture- 
gallery. In order to be relieved from all restraint, he 
laid aside, this time also, every emblem of royalty, and 
succeeded in preserving his incognito somewhat better 
than on the former occasion at Strasburg. He assumed 
the character of a wandering musician ; his suite con- 
sisting of but two persons. Colonel Balbi, a connoisseur, 
and a page : he wore a simple black wig and a light brown 
dress with gold buttons. 

Several laughable scenes are said to have been oc- 
casioned by this incognito. Thus, whilst stopping at an 
inn in Amsterdam, he happened to order a very expensive 
kind of pasty, which was there regarded as a great dainty. 
Mine hostess, who usually drew her conclusions, as to the 



THE PHILOSOPHER OF SANS-SOUCI. 203 

finances of her guests, from externals, begged leave to 
inquire whether he was prepared to pay for so expensive 
a delicacy. She was informed that the individual in 
question was a virtuoso, who could earn by his perform- 
ances the price of more than ten such pasties. Her 
curiosity being awakened by this statement, she hastened 
to Frederick, and would give him no peace until he con- 
sented to play something for her on his flute. At length, 
enraptured by the beauty of his performance, the Dutch 
woman exclaimed, " That'll do, sir ! that'll do ! You can 
indeed pipe beautifully, and I dare say earn a few half- 
pence : I'll get the pasty ready." 

From Amsterdam Frederick proceeded in a common 
passage-boat to Utrecht, and here became acquainted with 
a Swiss, Le Catt, who acted as tutor to a young Dutch- 
man : he invited the Swiss to dine with him, and was 
so pleased with his intelligence and information, that he 
requested his address, telling him at the same time, that 
he might hereafter have occasion not regret their meet- 
ing. Three months subsequently, Le Catt received an 
invitation from Frederick to come to Berlin and act as 
his secretary. This offer he could not, however, accept, 
as he was then ill ; but three years later, he received 
a second invitation, which he accepted ; and for twenty 
years remained faithfully attached to Frederick's person. 



204 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

POLITICAL RELATIONS PREVIOUS TO THE SEVEN TEARS' WAR. 

During the years succeeding the conclusion of the trea- 
ties of Dresden and Aix-la-Chapelle, Europe enjoyed 
repose, but it was the calm of a sultry summer's day. 
Angry clouds Avere gathering on the horizon, and the dull 
sounds of distant thunder might be at intervals heard. 
These harbingers of the coming storm did not prove de- 
ceptive : — the sweeping tempest again burst forth and 
with redoubled violence. 

The jealousy which the other states of Europe felt at 
Prussia's growing power was the immediate cause of this 
political convulsion. They could not reconcile them- 
selves to the idea of Prussia, whose rank as a monarchy 
they had hitherto considered as a mere bubble, — the 
the gratification of an innocuous pride, — now becoming so 
powerful, as to have an important voice in the council 
of nations. That the "Margrave of Brandenburg," as 
Frederick was still derisively styled, should have at- 
tained such power as rendered it by no means improb- 
able that he would become a most dangerous neighbor, 
caused no little chagrin. That his thoughts were set on 
further aggrandizement was assumed as a self-evident 
proposition. And further, there was many a personal 
pique to be gratified ; so that between public jealousy 
and private malice open war was the natural result. 

Maria Theresa could not teach herself to forget Silesia. 
The rising prosperity of the land beneath Prussia's rule, 
and the considerably increased revenue which Frederick 



POLITICAL RELATIONS. 205 

derived from it, rendered her grief at the loss but so much 
the more poignant. Considering her surrender of Silesia 
as an act to which she had been forced by the imperious 
nature of her necessities, her whole thoughts were em- 
ployed in devising schemes for regaining her lost posses- 
sions. Nor did she give way to mere vain regrets, but 
with masculine energy concentrated the strength of her 
empire, and sought, by intimate alliances with foreign 
powers, to attain still further security. Her administra- 
tion was so judicious, that, notwithstanding the many 
territorial losses which she had sustained, her revenues 
were more flourishing and larger in amount than they 
had been under her father, Charles VI. ; and so unremit- 
ting were her personal exertions for the improvement 
and discipline of her army, that she soon inspired it with 
fresh feelmgs of confidence and resolution. As one of 
her ministers who was peculiarly efficient in council, we 
must mention Count Kaunitz. He had been appointed 
chancellor of state, and sympathizing with his imperial 
mistress in her hatred of Frederick, his high talents were 
wholly devoted to the effecting of judicious combinations 
with foreign powers. Maria's husband, the Emperor him- 
self, was the only one who was wholly inefficient. He 
took no part in the administration of public affairs. His 
attention was chiefly engrossed by money transactions, 
for which he betrayed considerable aptitude ; indeed, to 
such a degree did he carry his taste for speculation, that 
on the war breaking out between Prussia and Austria, 
he actually supplied Frederick at first with different 
necessaries on being paid in money for the same. 

Saxony, particularly Count Briihl, continued, even 
after the treaty of Dresden, to entertain the same hostil- 
ity to Frederick ; but much caution was here necessary, 
from Saxony's lying so exposed to Prussia. In Russia, 
the personal feelings of the Empress Catherine as well 
as those of her all-powerful minister, Bestuscheff, were 
not less inimical to Frederick. Austrian diplomacy was 
not slow in talking advantage of this state of things, and 



206 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

a treaty of mutual defence was concluded in the year 1746 
between Austria and Russia, in which it was stipulated 
by a private article that, in the event of Frederick at- 
tacking either of those powers, his right to Silesia became 
forfeited, and that steps should be instantly taken to 
restore it to Austria. Saxony was invited to join the 
league, and testified the utmost readiness to accede to 
the proposition ; but at the same time urged the difficul- 
ties of its position, as a reason for the other cabinets 
not insisting on a formal declaration of adhesion : of the 
sentiments of the Saxon cabinet and court there could be 
little question. Austria and Saxony now directed their 
joint energies to inflame Russia against Frederick, and in 
this they were eminently successful. Frederick had al- 
lowed some expression to escape him, reflecting on the 
dishonorable policy of the Empress and her minister : 
this had been speedily conveyed to the ears of the indi- 
viduals alluded to, together with a number of fictions, 
and calumnies, and the result was that the Russian 
cabinet formally decided, in 1755, that war was to be de- 
clared against Prussia the moment any of Russia's allies 
assailed that power. 

English gold had likewise contributed to sway the 
Russian cabinet to this decision. The friendship which 
had hitherto subsisted between Austria and England had 
grown somewhat cold, in consequence of the former power 
regarding the latter as, in some measure, the cause of the 
surrenders which it had been obliged to make. England 
having been previously allied with Russia, now held it 
advisable to join this league against Frederick, viewing 
him still as the ally of France, with which country a war 
threatened to break out, on account of some differences 
in Xorth America. In that event, Hanover would be, as 
England conceived, best protected against any attempts 
on the part of Prussia. 

These machinations of his enemies were not long a 
secret to Frederick. The Russian crown-prince was one 
of his most ardent admirers, and had often given him im* 



POLITICAL RELATIONS. 207 

portant information, without being able, however, to take 
any active steps in his behalf, as he was studiously ex- 
cluded from all part of the administration by the Empress. 
Frederick had other channels also through which he 
derived information, as to everything that was going for- 
ward. One of the most important of these was an official 
in the Saxon government, through whose treachery he 
obtained complete copies of all the secret correspondence 
carried on between the cabinets of Saxony, Vienna, and 
Russia. He was thus enabled, at the first approach of 
danger, to take the most judicious measures for meeting 
it. He took a calm, general view of his complicated re- 
lations and the embarrassments of his position. In 1753, 
just about the time his fantastic account of the Spandau 
manoeuvres appeared, he wrote his " Anonymous Letters 
to the Public," in which he admirably parodied the diplo- 
matic intrigues of the day. The Berlin court, it was 
therein stated, had refused to permit the minuets of a 
musician from Aix-la-Chapelle to be performed at its fStes, 
preferring to dance to its own airs ; that several barbarous 
courts had taken up the musician's cause ; and that divers 
and sundry treaties, alliances, and so forth, had been con- 
cluded, and that consequently a most frightful war might 
reasonably be expected. Voltaire remarked, on the 
appearance of these " Letters," that the king had written 
them solely with a view to prove that he was not depend- 
ent on him ; and, in truth, they evince so much satirical 
power in their author, that they would go far to show 
that the writer hardly needed the aid even of a Voltaire 
Frederick had, however, in all probability, something else 
in mind besides the French poet. 

But England saw that it would be clearly her interest, 
in the event of a war with France, that the continent 
should be at peace ; and further, that Austria was the most 
active in enkindling this continental war, whilst Frederick 
was equally anxious with herself for the maintenance of 
peace, from an apprehension of endangering the acqui- 
gitons which he had made in the former wars : he hacl 



208 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

given a sufficiently strong proof of his pacific intentions, 
wlien summoned by France, in 1754, to join in an enter- 
prise against Hanover. " You have a prospect of plunder 
there ; such were the words used towards the Prussian 
ambassador in Paris : " the King of England's exchequer 
is well filled, the King of Prussia has only to carry it off." 
To this Frederick replied, that such considerations might 
be inducements in the eyes of some persons, but he begged 
that there might be a distinction drawn between him and 
others. This induced England to make advances to Prus- 
sia, and their interests so coalesced, that a treaty for their 
reciprocal defence was actually concluded in 1756 between 
these powers. This alliance had been certainly entered 
into on a calculation, which the cabals in the Russian 
cabinet rendered by no means improbable, that Russia 
would side with England, and, by consequence, with 
Prussia. 

Just about the period of the conclusion of this treaty, 
an ambassador arrived from France, offering Frederick a 
renewal of the treaty which Avas about to expire with 
that country, and holding out to him, as an inducement, 
an offer of sovereignty over the island of Tobago, in the 
West Indies. This last proposition, savoring so strongly 
of romance, was viewed in the light of a joke by Fred- 
erick, who at the same time distinctly declared, that he 
desired nothing but the maintenance of peace, and that 
this had been his actuating motive in concluding the 
treaty ^vith England. This declaration gave much offence 
to the French cabinet, and loud complaints were made of 
the " treachery " of the Prussian king. 

An alliance between France and Austria was now 
speedily brought about. Kaunitz, who had long since 
observed that England's sympathy was waxing cold, had 
taken the very means to bring about this result. Indeed, 
no sooner had the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle been concluded, 
than he made proposals of this nature, which, though at 
first rejected by the French ministry, had at least the 
effect of suggesting the possibility at some future day of 



Political relations. 209 

such a change in the policy of France. But these propo- 
sitions met with a different reception from the moment 
that Kaunitz succeeded in gaining the support of Madame 
Pompadour, the King of France's mistress. She enter- 
tained a thorough hatred of Frederick, as his kingly pride 
would not stop to court the royal harlot. His ambassador 
Avas the only foreign minister who did not pay her his re- 
spects. Voltaire, on returning to Sans-souci in 1750, had 
brought Frederick many tender greetings from the mar- 
chioness, which Frederick replied to, by remarking drily, 
that he did not know her. Indeed, he evinced the most 
marked contempt for the entire mistress-government of 
France, and used to divide its different epoclis according 
to the ruling petticoat, into " Cotillon 1, 2, 3." That the 
French monarch's personal feelings tow^ards Frederick 
were of no very friendly nature, has been already 
mentioned. The Austrian party left, on the contrary, no 
means untried for gaining the favor of the all-powerful 
Pompadour. Even Maria Theresa so far sacrificed her 
pride to her hatred of Frederick, as to condescend to 
address the harlot in private letters, under the titles of 
" Princess," " Cousin," and " Dearest Sister." But Pompa- 
dour was also deeply interested in a war, as being the 
only means of providing for her creatures ; besides feel- 
ing assured, that if once the European powers found their 
policy concentrated in her person, they would take care 
to banish every rival from the king's presence. Regular 
conferences were held at her summer palace during the 
autumn of 1755, which led to the conclusion of a treaty 
of mutual defence between Austria and France, on the 
9th of May, 1756, to serve as a counterpoise to that ex- 
isting between England and Prussia. 

The calculations of England and Prussia, as regarded 
Russia, had been founded on a false assumption. The 
influence of English gold was outweighed by the hatred 
entertained by the empress and her minister towards 
Frederick, and the bribery resorted to by Austria. Russia 
refused to enter on any alliance with Prussia, and aban- 



210 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

doning England likewise, joined the opposite party. To 
increase still further the number of Frederick's enemies, 
a revolution had broken out in Sweden, throAving the whole 
government into the hands of the imperial council, w^hich 
was completely in the pay of France. Frederick's sister, 
the then Queen of Sweden, as well as her husband, were 
thus robbed of all power and influence. 

A naval war had in the mean time broken out between 
England and France. Considerable preparations for war 
were likewise going forward in the immediate neighbor- 
hood of Prussia. Extraordinary levies of troops were be- 
ing made in Bohemia. Magazines were erected, and such 
dispositions made as could have no other purpose than 
war. In Liefland a considerable Russian army was being 
drawn together. Frederick had obtained information of 
all those movements, and, likewise, that there was no 
danger of an immediate invasion, owing to the dispositions 
not being as yet in a suflBicient state of forwardness. He 
likewise learned that it Avas the intention of the allies to 
raise a large army in Saxony, where no preparations for 
war had been as yet made ; and that there was nothing 
further desired than that Frederick should be induced to 
take some hostile step, in order to give a color of justice 
to the acts of his enemies. His system of defence con- 
sisted in being always prepared for war, and the anticipat- 
ing the motions of his enemies ; but wishing to leave no 
means untried for the maintenance of peace, he, on the 12th 
of July, 1756, demanded a public declaration from the 
Empress of Austria, as to the object of the present equip- 
ments. The answer which the Empress returned, under 
the dictation of Count Kaunitz, was to the effect, that at 
the present momentous crisis, her own safety and that of 
her allies imperiously demanded that she should take every 
precautionary measure possible for preserving intact the 
honors and dignity of her crown. This reply was design- 
edly conveyed in words, the exact purport of wiiich is 
rather vague, and at first sight not very intelligible. On 
the 2d of August, Frederick demanded a less equivocal 



POLITICAL RELATIONS. 211 

explanation, as also a distinct declaration that he should 
not be attacked either during the current or following 
year. But the answer to this demand was expressed in 
equally vague terms ; and the latter part of it entirely 
disregarded. On Frederick's again applying for a further 
ex^Dlanation, his request was replied to in a tone of insult- 
ing hauteur. Frederick regarded this threefold refusal as 
a formal declaration of war, and resolved on devoting the 
remainder of the year to the most active preparations, to 
prevent his enemies attacking him at a disadvantage. 

On the outbreak of the war, Voltaire sent Frederick an 
epistle in verse, forewarning him that he would now lose 
the laurels which he had hitherto reaped, as a punishment 
for thus fanning the slumbering embers of discord into a 
flame : this was of course the interpretation put by his 
enemies on his conduct. Frederick replied likewise in 
verse, asserting his love of peace in preference to war ; 
but at the same time remarking, that he knew full well 
the duties which Providence had imposed upon him. 
" Voltaire," he proceeds, " may well, in the safety of seclu- 
sion, enjoy the repose of the philosopher ; " and concludes 
with the words : — 

" 'Tis mine, destruction to defy, 
To boldly meet the coming storm ; 
As king to think, to live, to die." 



212 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

PIBST CAMPAIGN OF THE SEVEN YEAKS' WAB. 

Frederick had embraced the resolution of anticipating 
the motions of his enemies, and, by assuming the aggres- 
sive, averting the war from his own territories. As to 
Russia, he had positive information of there being no 
danger of an attack from that quarter during the present 
year; nothing was therefore necessary as regarded it 
further than to augment the garrisons lying in the east-- 
ern provinces of the Prussian monarchy. The main 
strength of the Prussian forces was to be directed against 
Saxony and Bohemia. In Saxony Frederick was resolved 
to intrench himself strongly, in order to cover Branden- 
burg, and at the same time to have a firm basis for his 
operations against Bohemia. His dispositions were con- 
ducted with as much secrecy as they were executed with 
dispatch ; none but the most trustworthy of his generals 
received information of his designs ; nor were the generals 
of brigades informed of their destination until the very 
eve of their departure for the field. 

On the 29th of August 60,000 Prussian troops advanced 
on Saxony. No one was prepared for so sudden an out- 
break of the war. Saxon troops to the number of 17,000 
were drawn from their cantonments, and formed a fortified 
camp at Pirna. King Augustus and his minister, Briihl, 
becoming completely stupefied in the midst of the general 
confusion, abandoned Dresden, and sought refuge in the 
camp at Pirna. It was first resolved that the Saxon 
army should fall back on Bohemia, there to form a junctiou 



FIRST CAMPAIGN OF THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 213 

with the Austrians, but on the advice of the French 
ambassador it was determined to take advantage of the 
strength of the position and cover Austria, in order to 
give the latter time to collect its scattered forces, com- 
plete its equipments, and march to the relief of Saxony. 
The extensive plateau lying between Pirna and Konig- 
stein, twenty miles in circuit, was accordingly occupied 
by the Saxons, the precipitous nature of the ground 
securing them from all danger, whilst the approaches 
were all blocked up by barricades formed of trees. 

Frederick on his arrival found the whole land in a 
pitifully defenceless state. Wittenberg, Torgau, Leipzig 
were occupied without resistance. On the 9th of Septem- 
ber he entered Dresden, in the immediate vicinity of 
which the different corps of the Prussian army took up 
such a position as cut off the Saxon camp from all con- 
nection with the interior. 

He now declared that he was compelled to regard 
Saxony as a pledge for his own security, and accordingly 
had the contents of the well-supplied arsenals of Dresden, 
Weissenfels, and Zeitz transferred to Magdeburg. Torgau 
was fortiiied and garrisoned by Prussian troops The 
Saxon officials were suspended from their duties, the 
offices closed, the privy chambers shut, and a Prussian 
executive established in Dresden. All monies belonging 
to the king were seized, but the property of the subject 
was in every way respected. The conduct of the Prussian 
troops was exemplary. Frederick was particularly 
gracious in his conduct towards every one in Dresden : 
to Augustus's wife and the royal family he showed the 
most marked civility and attention. 

But this sudden occupation of Saxony had excited the 
amazement of the world ; and Frederick's enemies strove 
hard to represent the act as a breach of the general peace. 
The Emperor of Germany addressed a remonstrance to 
him, requiring him in the most paternal terms to " desist 
from his unexampled, highly criminal, and most culpable 
rebellion ; to pay adequate compensation to the King of 



214 FEEDERICK THE GREAT. 

Poland, and quietly return home." At the same time the 
generals and colonels of the Prussian army were required 
to abandon their impious lord, to avoid participation in 
his guilt, provided they did not wish to expose themselves 
to the vengeance of the supreme ruler of the empire. As 
a reply to those charges, which he had anticipated, Fred- 
erick resolved on publishing the whole series of documents 
obtained from the Dresden archives ; and to preclude the 
possibility of any question as to their authenticity, he 
determined on seizing the original documents. The 
Saxons had, however, taken precautions to prevent this. 
The archives, which were to have been sent to Poland for 
security, had been transferred into the queen's chamber, 
and the key of the presses handed over to her majesty, 
who was as inveterate an enemy to Frederick as even 
Briihl himself. She was, however, obliged to surrender 
the key : her tears and supplications availed her nought ; 
the presses were opened, and the records sent off to Berlin. 
A few days afterwards a detailed statement, taken from 
the original documents, appeared in print. A number of 
statements were published in reply, not impugning, how- 
ever, the accuracy of the records, but excepting to the 
conclusions which Frederick had sought to deduce from 
them. 

From the time of entering Saxony Frederick kept up 
an uninterrupted correspondence with Augustus, from 
whom he demanded either the clearest and most unequi- 
vocal guai'antees for his remaining neutral in future, or that 
he should join him against Austria. It was a singular 
circumstance that the position of the Saxons was such 
that they dared not venture to attack the Prussians nor 
the Prussians them. The storming of the camp itself 
appeared, if not altogether impracticable, at least attended 
with too much bloodshed to admit of the experiment be- 
ing made ; but the Saxons were so completely hemmed in 
on all sides that there was no possibility of their obtain- 
ing supplies, the want of which they had already begun 
to feel very sensibly, as nothing was permitted to pass, 



FIRST CAMPAIGN OF THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 215 

except such things as were intended for the royal table. 
Frederick had consequently every hope that famine would 
soon force them to surrender. But Augustus would not 
consent to acquiesce any further in Frederick's demands 
than by giving him a general assurance of his intention 
to remain neutral ; a promise which Frederick was little 
inclined to place such implicit reliance upon as to expose 
himself, by advancing on Bohemia, to the annoyance of 
having a hostile army in his rear. He consequently con- 
tinued a strict blockade of the Saxon camp ; but as these 
operations required the presence of the greater part of 
his troops, he was prevented from acting with due energy 
against the Austrian army in Bohemia. 

The latter had, although not completely equipped, 
advanced in two columns towards the frontiers of Saxony 
and Silesia. One of these corps was opposed by a separate 
Prussian army under Schwerin, which advanced from 
Silesia ; but the Austrians took up their position with so 
much tact, that it was impossible to force them to an en- 
gagement, and nothing beyond mere skirmishes took 
place between the two armies. Augustus had in the 
meantime found an opportunity of conveying intelligence 
to the Austrian court of the imminent peril in which he 
stood, and solicited instantaneous relief. Upon which 
the second Austrian corps, under Field-marshal Browne, 
received orders to take decisive steps for the relief of 
Saxony. Browne immediately concentrated his forces at 
Budin, and prepared to cross the Eger. 

Frederick sent a body of his troops to watch the move- 
ments of this Austrian corps. These troops possessed 
themselves of the narrow passes connecting Saxony with 
Bohemia, and informed Frederick of all the enemy's 
motions. Frederick's chief aim was to prevent a junction 
of the Saxons and Austrians. He therefore resolved to 
attack the latter with the troops which he had hitherto 
employed merely as a corps of observation, inconsiderable 
as they were in numbers. He hastened in person to as- 
sume the command, and led them from the mountainous 



516 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

heighte into the open plains. The hostile armies en- 
countered each other at the village of Lowositz, on the 
Elbe, which is situated at the foot of a ridge of hills. 
Neither army had any idea of the proximity of the other, 
but Frederick had the advantage of being able to take up 
a strong position between the hills which flanked both his 
wings. 

On the morning of the first of October Frederick formed 
his troops in line of battle ; the plain was, however, so 
completely enveloped in a dense fog, as to render it im- 
possible to distinguish the different objects. Lowositz 
was half veiled from view, and at its side nothing beyond 
a few troops of hostile cavalry was discernible. The 
Prussian left wing, as it advanced and ascended the 
heights to the left, was received with a heavy fire, which 
was sustained from some vineyards that descended to 
the brink of the Elbe. This attack came from a few 
thousand Pandoors^ who had concealed themselves behind 
the walls of the vineyards. Frederick conceiving from this 
that he was not engaging the whole of the hostile army, 
but merely its advanced guard, directed that his guns 
should be pointed so as to play on the Austrian horse, 
and this proving ineffectual, he sent twenty squadrons of 
dragoons to put them to the rout, and thus terminate the 
contest. The Prussians charged boldly forward on the 
foe, overthrowing every obstacle in their way ; but whilst 
engaged in the pursuit they were suddenly assailed on 
the flank by a well-sustained fire, which obliged them to 
retire. Frederick, who now saw that he had to deal with 
the entire of the enemy's forces, which were double the 
number of his own, immediately dispatched an adjutant 
to the dragoons, to direct them to take up a different 
position ; but they, in connection with the cuirassiers, had 
made a joint charge on the enemy's cavalry, and, in the 
face of the fire to which they were exposed and the un- 
favorable nature of the ground, had again routed it. 
The fire which now opened upon them became, however, 
so murderous that they were again obliged to retire, but 



FIRST CAMPAIGN OF THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 217 

in perfect order ; thus matters came to no decisive issue 
on either side. The fog began, however, to clear away, 
and the combatants were enabled to make the necessary 
dispositions. Frederick sought out the most favorable 
position that the overwhelming numbers of his foes would 
permit, and strained every nerve to secure the victory. 
The chief attention of the enemy was now directed to the 
Prussian left wing, which they sought to dislodge from 
the elevated position which it had taken up. But the 
Prussians pushing forward with undaunted courage, and 
gaining wall after wall Avithin the vineyards, descended 
into the plain in pursuit of the enemy, one portion of 
which fled towards the Elbe, whilst the other intrenched 
itself in Lowositz. The Austrian reserves were now 
brought up against the Prussians, who had expended al- 
most the whole of their ammunition during six hours of 
continual firing : the Duke of Bevern, who commanded this 
division of the Prussian army, observing this movement, 
called out gaily to his troops : " Boys, take no heed of it ! 
for what other reason have you been taught to attack the 
enemy with the bayonet ? " These words enkindled the 
enthusiasm of his men, who, notwithstanding the enemy 
were perpetually reinforced, overthrew everything in their 
charge, and penetrated into Lowositz : here, advancing 
amongst the houses, which had caught fire, they drove 
the whole of the Austrian army from their position, and 
put it to flight. 

This victory was achieved before two o'clock in the 
afternoon, but not without considerable sacrifices. Fred- 
erick's losses exceeded those of the Austrians ; and such 
was the skill with which Field- marshal Browne covered 
the defeat of his right wing with his left, that he was 
able to retire without any further loss. The Prussian 
right wing, commanded by Frederick in person, had, 
with the exception of such brigades as had been detached 
to reinforce the left, not been able to take any part in the 
engagement. The story goes, that Frederick, after the 
conclusion of the battle, worn out from fatigue and want 



218 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

of rest, not having slept during three successive days 
and nights, got into his carriage to take some slight 
repose. On a sudden a heavy gun loaded with ball was 
fired by the Austrians, through mistake, as a signal for 
the retreat ; the ball struck the bottom of the carriage 
in which Frederick lay, and passing through it, would 
have carried off both his legs, were it not that he had 
providentially placed them upon the opposite seat. 

It was considered unadvisable to pursue the Austrians, 
as Frederick was anxious to terminate the affair with 
Saxony, and especially as he was not strong enough to 
follow the enemy with effect. The battle of Lowositz had 
likewise shown him that he had no longer to deal with the 
old Austrians, but with a much better disciplined army. 
He could at the same time remark with pride, as to his 
own men, " Never have my troops done such wonders, 
since I have had the honor of commanding them." The 
victory had at least the effect of preventing a junction of 
the Austrians and Saxons. Leaving one division of his 
victorious army in a fortified position, he set out on the 
14th of December for Saxony. 

Things had, however, assumed another complexion in 
Saxony. Xotwithstanding the severe privations to which 
the Saxon soldiers were exposed, they remained faithful 
to the last. As the thunder of the guns from the sur- 
rounding heights proclaimed the victory the Prussians 
had achieved, all hope of relief vanished, and their only 
remaining prospect of salvation lay in the possibilitj^ of 
eluding the vigilance of the Prussians, and then, sword in 
hand, fighting their way through their foes. Private 
messengers were dispatched to Browne, who immediately 
put a corps, consisting of six thousand men, in motion, 
to take the Prussians in the rear, and by an active co-opera- 
tion relieve the Saxions. He arrived on the spot at the 
hour appointed on the 11th of October, but the first at- 
tempt of the Saxons to cross the Elbe failed. Preparations 
were made to ford the stream on the following night ; 
and on a given signal from the heights, the Austrians 



FIRST CAMPAIGN OF THE SEVEN YEARS* WAR. 219 

were to attack the Prussians, in order to cover the pas- 
sage. Unfortunately, the fury of the elements on that 
night prevented the signal from being recognized, and 
Browne remained in position. No sooner had the Saxons 
left the heights, than the Prussians ascended, and the 
Saxon rear-guard and baggage fell into their hands. The 
Prussian posts on the other side of the Elbe were now 
strengthened, and the Saxons again hemmed in on all 
sides. Browne remained in his position, which became 
every moment more critical, until the 14th of October, 
and then retired upon Bohemia. Seventy-two-hours 
were passed by the exhausted Saxons under the naked 
canopy of heaven, without either food or sleep. Briihl 
and the king.^ who were in the enjoyment of every luxury 
in the fortress of Konigstein, directed that a desperate 
sally should be made ; but the generals saw the utter 
impossiblity of its success. The Saxons next sought to 
regain their freedom by an honorable capitulation. Count 
Rutowski, as commander-in-chief, sent an officer to pro- 
pose conditions to Winterfeldt ; but the latter declared 
that he had no authority from the king, and to dispel the 
last shadow of hope, led the officer along the Prussian 
posts, telling him to give Rutowski an accurate descrip- 
tion of what he had seen. Nothing now remained but to 
surrender themselves at discretion as prisoners of war. 
Every regiment was obliged to lay down its arms. 
Frederick rode along the lines, treated the hostile 
generals, who advanced to meet him, with courtesy, and 
invited them to dinner. Bread was plentif uly distributed 
amongst the half-famished soldiery. The Saxon officers, 
on giving their parole that they would not again serve 
against Prussia, were permitted to return home. The 
privates were obliged to swear fealty to the Prussian flag, 
as there was no other mode of providing for them. They 
were clad in the Prussian uniform, and partly distributed 
amongst the different regiments. Frederick thereby con- 
siderably augmented the number of his troops, but had 
formed a false estimate of the strength of Saxon national 



220 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

feeling, for the services which the Saxons rendered him 
were trifling, and on several-occasions whole regiments 
fully equipped deserted to the enemy. 

Such was the issue of the first campaign. King Au- 
gustus, who had been a spectator, from the heights of 
Konigstein, of the captivity of his army, demanded pass- 
ports from Frederick ; and setting out with his youngest 
son and Bruhl for Warsaw, sought there to drown the 
memory of defeat in the distractions of court revelry. 
His royal consort remained in Dresden, and continued to 
entertain the most bitter animosity towards Frederick, 
up to the time of her death in the year following. The 
Prussian troops were withdrawn from Bohemia, and a 
frontier line formed for the protection of their winter- 
quarters. 1 J i- 

The fli-st campaign was, however, but the prelude to 
the awful struggle which was yet to come. The prompt- 
ness and decision with which Frederick had neutralized 
the plans of his enemies, converted their jealousy into the 
most furious animosity. The Emperor, regarding the 
conquest as one involving the existence of the Catholic 
church and the German empire, declared Frederick un- 
der the ban, and actually raised the " speedy exeeutionary 
army of the empire," which was placed under the com- 
mand of Prince William of Hildberghausen. An un- 
fortunate misprint in the proclamation for raising this 
army converted the term eilende, meaning speedy, into 
dende, wretched ; and, indeed, its subsequent operations 
were much more correctly characterized by the latter 
than the former of these epithets. The German empire 
had long since become but a mere shadow. 

The danger which Prussia had to apprehend from 
foreign powers was more considerable than that to be 
feared from the "speedy imperial army." France de- 
clared Frederick's invasion of Sa.xony to be a breach of 
the treaty of Westphalia, the maintenance of which it had 
euaranteed. New combinations against Frederick sprang 
up The Queen of Poland was the mother-m-law of the 



FIRST CAMPAIGN OF THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 221 

French Dauphin ; and Madame Pompadour found in her 
an active ally against Frederick; further, the French 
ministry were now anxious to convert the naval war 
with England into a continental one against Hanover. An 
immense army was accordingly raised, to be conducted 
against Hanover and Prussia. Sweden was forced to 
adopt the policy of France ; and it was arranged that 
North Pomerania, which had been ceded by Sweden to 
Federick's father, should be now regained by force of 
arms. Russia concluded a new league with Austria, 
against Prussia in January, 1757. 

Frederick had but few allies. Some few petty princes 
in English pay sided with him. His treaty with Eng- 
land was renewed on the 11th of January, 1757, and 
the English people testified the most enthusiastic admi- 
ration of his genius ; but the leaders of the English min- 
istry were divided in their views, and lost sight of the im- 
portant struggle which was now approaching. The Eng- 
lish cabinet thought of nothing beyond securing the 
Hanoverian frontiers from the dangers of invasion ; nor 
could Frederick induce the Hanoverian minister to send 
an army across the Rhine to oppose the march of the 
French, and as he could not consent to weaken his own 
forces, he was obliged to surrender Wesel, his strongest 
hold in the Westphalian provinces. 

To strengthen his power, he had recourse to Saxony, 
which he obliged to supply him with considerable sub- 
sidies, recruits, and provisions : the salaries of the public 
oflBcers vvere either curtailed or altogether withheld ; the 
vast supplies of porcelain lying in the Meissen manufac- 
tory were sold, and the money so obtained appropriated 
to the exigencies of the Prussian state. The royal palace 
at Dresden, with its immense treasures of art, which King 
Augustus had collected at an enormous expense, was, 
however, spared. During the winter, the greater part of 
which Frederick spent in Dresden, he repeatedly visited 
the picture-gallery, with a view to the collection which 
he intended to form at Sans-souci. The attendants in the 



222 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

gallery, who saw, in imagination, the pictures stript from 
the walls and packed up for Berlin, were, on the con- 
trary, handsomely remunerated on such occasions ; and 
on Frederick's desiring to have Batoni's Magdalene copied, 
he first applied to the Saxon royal family for permission. 
The opera and concerts afforded him particular pleasure, 
as music was highly cultivated in Dresden. The Queen 
of Poland and her son were ahvays treated with the most 
marked courtesy ; although Frederick would not permit 
her to have any part in the administration of affairs ; and 
on his discovering that she carried on a secret correspon- 
dence with Austria, he ordered a guard to be placed at 
the entrance of her palace : a severe scrutiny shortly after 
led to the detection of a packet of letters, enclosed within 
a sausage, which she had sent as a present to a friend. 
The consequence of this discovery was, that more circum- 
spection was used in future in the transmission of these 
female dispatches. 



CAMPAIGN OF 1757, PRAGUE AND KOLLIN. 223 



CHAPTER XXV. 

OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1757. PRAGUE AND KOLLIN. 

Such was the way in which the winter passed prepara- 
tory to that serious contest which was to decide the fate 
of the Prussian monarchy, and which was soon to com- 
mence. Frederick had, according to the most liberal cal- 
culation, 200,000 men at his command, whilst the com- 
bined forces opposed to him amounted to 500,000. But 
neither France, nor Russia, nor Sweden were as yet pre- 
pared; Austria was the only power which had already 
assumed a threatening aspect. Frederick resolved on 
having recourse to his old manoeuvre of anticipating the 
movements of his enemies, and attacking them in detail, 
before their measures were fully concerted or matured. 

The supreme command over the Austrian army had 
been delegated to Field-marshal Browne. It was his in- 
tention to attack Frederick in Saxony, arid thus attain 
the same advantages which Frederick had hitherto Avon 
by the rapidity of his movements. He accordingly made 
a judicious disposition of his troops, and constructed 
magazines in the neighborhood of the Saxon frontiers. 
Frederick acted as if it were not his intention to inter- 
fere with Browne's operations ; he fortified Dresden, and 
circulated reports that he was about to await the attack 
of the Austrians. Browne was noAv superseded in the 
command of the army by Prince Charles of Lorraine, the 
emperor's brother, who had felt a longing for this post. 
Prince Charles made some considerable changes in the 
system of operations, which were rather variations than 



224 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

improvements. This was exactly what Frederick desired ; 
he proceeded with his masked measures, and lulled the 
enemy into a feeling of entire security. Just when such 
an event was least expected, his army burst from different 
quarters, like so many mountain torrents, down upon 
Bohemia, sweeping the isolated Austrian corps before it, 
and carrying off the magazines. Only one corps offered 
any considerable resistance, and this was routed near 
Reichenbach by the Duke of Bevern, who was advanc- 
ing from Lusatia upon Bohemia. 

The discomfited Austrians rallied round Prague, and 
thither Frederick pushed his troops likewise, in order to 
come, if possible, to a decisive engagement. On the 6th 
of May the main strength of the Prussian army, in three 
divisions, under Frederick, Schwerin, and the Duke of 
Bevern, took up a position on the left bank of the Elbe, 
below Prague, whilst a fourth corps, under Prince Moritz 
of Dessau, received orders to proceed along the left bank, 
cross the stream, and turn the enemy's flank. Frederick 
explained to Schwerin his intention of immediately at- 
tacking the Austrians, who had derived their first in- 
formation as to the propinquity of the Prussians from 
some musket-shots discharged by the latter at a band of 
Croats. Schwerin remonstrated, urging that the troops 
were fatigued by the march of the foregoing night, that 
it was not possible to reach the enemy, except by a cir- 
cuitous path, and that they had no accurate knoAvledge of 
the nature of the ground. On Frederick persisting in 
his resolve, the old field- marshal, pulling down his hat 
over his eyes, as Avas his habit, cried out : " If we shall 
and must have an engagement to-day, I'll attack the 
Austrians in the first place I meet them." This was not, 
however, so easy of execution, for the Austrians had taken 
up a very strong i3osition upon a rising ground, protected 
by a marsh. General Winterfeldt was dispatched, not- 
withstanding, to reconnoitre, and soon brought back word 
that it would be no very difficult matter to turn the 
enemy's flank, as there was a very accessible approach. 



CAMPAIGN OF IToT. PRAGUE AND KOLUN. 225 

formed by a plateau and some corn-fields which ran be- 
tween the dykes. The Prussian army accordingly de- 
ployed, whilst the Austrians made a movement in a similar 
direction. 

But what Winterfeldt had taken for corn-fields proved 
to be in reality a morass, which considerably impeded the 
motions of the Prussians, especially the left wing, under 
Schwerin, whose duty it was to open the attack on the 
enemy's flank. Some few of the soldiers found narrow 
ridges of dry ground, along which they crossed in small 
bodies ; Av^hile the greater number w^ere obliged to wade 
across, sinking at every step, and unable to bring up the 
requisite number of cannon to bear upon the enemy. Not- 
withstanding the delay and disorder occasioned by this 
mode of transit, each battalion, as it reached the opposite 
side, gallantly charged the enemy, but was received with 
such murderous discharges of grape that they were forced 
to halt. The Austrians, led on by Browne, who had 
patriotically accepted of a subordinate command, now 
advanced, and repulsed the first lines of the Prussians. 
Schwerin did all in his power to rally his men ; snatching 
a banner from an ensign, he again led on his troops, in 
the face of the enemy's fire, but had scarce advanced a 
few paces, when he was dashed to the ground from his 
horse, no less than five grape-shot having entered his 
body. Browne was at the same moment so severely 
wounded that he had to be carried off the field. A cavalry 
charge on the left wing had been attended, although not 
without the most obstinate resistance, with more success. 
The enemy's horse were completely routed. The Prince 
of Lorraine, struggling in vain to rally the scattered squad- 
rons, was borne down in the melee, and being seized with 
a cramp in the breast, was likewise borne in a state of 
insensibility off the field of battle. The Prussian left was 
now reinforced, and charged with redoubled impetuosity, 
to avenge the death of its fallen leader. The Austrians 
were soon forced to give way. The Prussian army had 
ty this time crossed over at all points, and bore down 



226 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

upon the enemy. The most heroic courage was displayed 
on both sides, in the many minor struggles which the 
conjunctures of the day gave rise to. The Austrians, 
notwithstanding the resolution they displayed, were 
everywhere forced to yield. The want of a leader pre- 
cluded anything like unity in their operations. Fred- 
erick now brought the battle to an issue : he observed 
that a chasm had occurred in the centre of the Austrian 
army — thither he rushed, notwithstanding a furious can- 
nonade which opened on him from all quarters, cutting 
down many from his side, and at the head of three bat- 
talions completely routed the enemy. The retreat of the 
Austrians was a general flight, the main object being to 
seek safety behind the gates of Prague. One body of the 
Austrians not succeeding in reaching the city, dispersed. 
The rout of the enemy would have been complete had 
Prince Moritz of Dessau been able, in pursuance of his 
instructions, to cross the river with sufficient speed and 
take the fugitives in the rear. 

The victory was gained, but with much and serious 
loss. Prussia had lost 12,000 men. Of Schwerin's loss 
Frederick afterwards remarked : " His death has blasted 
the laurels of victory." Besides Schwerin a considerable 
number of other distinguished officers had either fallen 
or been Avounded. The losses on the side of the Aus- 
trians were still more considerable. In Browne they lost 
one of their ablest leaders. Frederick had testified to the 
latter, who expired some weeks afterwards from the 
wounds he had received, his extreme commiseration, and 
notified to him Schwerin's death. The main body of the 
Austrian army having secured itself in Prague, Frederick 
embraced the bold idea of executing here on a grand scale 
what he had already effected at the Saxon encampment 
near Pirna. This extensive city was to be invested, and 
the army forced to surrender. On the very evening after 
the battle he summoned the town ; but the summons 
being disregarded, he drew a cordon around it, and raised 
a series of works for carrying on a blockade, hoping 



CAMPAIGN OF 1757. PRAGUE AND KOLLIN. 22T 

between fire and hunger in a short time to complete its 
reduction. The red-hot balls which he fired into the city- 
kept up a perpetual conflagration. The congregated 
masses began to feel the effects of famine ; diseases and 
death committed frightful ravages. The courage of the 
Austrian army appeared completely gone, and some feeble 
sallies which had been attempted were repulsed without 
trouble. Frederick sent spies into the town, and the in- 
telligence they brought back confirmed him in the hope 
of a speedy fulfilment of his wishes. The court in Vienna 
trembled for the issue of the contest, which seemed in- 
separably bound up with the fall of Prague. The Ger- 
manic empire tottered to its base, for a daring body of 
freebooters had penetrated from Bohemia into Bavaria, 
and spread on all sides the terror of the Prussian name ; 
thoughts were even entertained as to how the hitherto 
invincible Prussian king was* to be propitiated by ncAV 
concessions. 

But the army shut up within the walls of Prague sus- 
tained, in the hope of speedy succor, the horrors of the 
blockade with wondrous fortitude. One of the Austrian 
corps which had stood under arms in Bohemia, having 
advanced some days later than the others towards Prague, 
had been several miles distant during the battle. This 
corps was under the command of Field-marshal Daun, 
who now retired further on the road towards KoUin, 
where he was joined by the numerous bodies of Austrians 
who had been routed in the engagement and cut off from 
Prague. Frederick first sent General Ziethen with his 
hussars against him, but as the enemy was in greater force 
than had been expected, a special corps of observation, 
under the Duke of Bevern, was united to that under Zie- 
then. The latter corps advanced against Daun ; but he, 
although the stronger, retired, permitting the Prussians 
to capture Kollin with its well-stored magazines, and even 
to invest Kuttenberg. But by this retiring he approached 
nearer the central provinces- of the Austrian monarchy, 
and by perpetually incorporating the reinforcements 



228 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

which were sent to him, the number of his troops soon 
became very considerable. 

More than five weeks had now elapsed since the battle 
of Prague had been fought, but without Frederick's hav- 
ing been able to bring matters to a decisive issue. Just 
ns his operations of the previous year had been retarded 
by the tedious reduction of the camp in Pima, so he was 
now detained by the siege of Prague from foUoAving out 
his measures. Delay was in the present instance fraught 
with proportionably greater danger, inasmuch as the safety 
of considerable masses of troops was now at stake, and 
the perils which from every side impended were becom- 
ing momentarily more imminent. The French had 
crossed the Rhine with a powerful army, and were already 
in Westphalia ; the Russians, Swedes, and the army of 
the Germanic empire were likewise preparing to march. 
An overwhelming spirit of dejection took possession of 
the soul of the great king. The victory of Prague would, 
to all appearance, have obviated all these embarrassments, 
had the Prince of Dessau appeared on the field of battle at 
the proper moment. That the prince's absence was not 
attributable to any fault of his own was a circumstance 
overlooked by Frederick. Indeed, the Duke of Bevern 
might even then, as Frederick maintained, by a rapid 
movement disperse Marshal Daun's corps ; but that this 
corps was superior to the Prussians in number, and that 
the Austrians were not likely to yield so readily Avere two 
facts which Frederick would not consent to believe. He 
resolved on attempting that in person which Bevern 
would not take upon himself to hazard, and taking with 
him all the troops not absolutely engaged in the siege of 
Prague, left the camp on the 13th of June to join Bevern. 

Daun had, in the interim, feeling himself in sufficient 
force, again advanced, and given express orders that every 
exertion should be made for the relief of Prague. This 
was a third fact which Frederick, who had now joined 
Bevern, could not bring himself to credit. All dispatches 
confirmatory of this intelligence were received with so 



CAMPAIGN OF 1757. PRAGUE AND KOLLIN. 229 

much displeasure that after a time no one dared to inter- 
fere, and it was with the most painful forebodings that 
those more immediately around his person observed his 
faculties, hitherto so clear and unobscured, seemed now 
wrapt in the most impenetrable gloom. Zieten, whose 
hussars had obtained accurate information of the real 
state of things, openly declared that the situation of the 
king and army was becoming every moment more critical, 
and that the consequences would be in the last degree dis- 
astrous. At length, on the afternoon of the 17 th of 
June, Frederick, on visiting his outposts, saw before him 
the whole Austrian army, far superior to his own in point 
of numbers, and strongly intrenched between KoUin and 
Paniaa. He promptly adopted the resolution of attacking 
the enemy next day, being determined to bring matters 
to a speedy issue, and apprehensive lest, by seemmg to 
shun an engagement, he should be forced to relinquish all 
the advantages hitherto obtained. 

The morning of the 18th of June dawned, and the x\us- 
trian army a second time disappeared from before the 
Prussians. It being impossible to ascertain whether Daun 
had merely shifted his position or had really retired 
under cover of night, Frederick determined on marching 
to Kollin, where he was certain in every case to come up 
with the enemy. But on ascending tlie heights near 
Panian he again came in view of the hostile army, which 
had taken up a strong position, and formed in order of 
battle. Frederick still pushed forward on the road to- 
wards Kollin, in order to discover the most assailable 
point for attacking his foes. At nine o'clock he reached 
an inn on the road-side, the upper windows of which af- 
forded a commanding view of the Austrian position, and 
here he drew up the plan of the battle. The enemy's 
left wing being protected by a precipitous steep was 
wholly unassailable, and the centre lines appeared to 
promise but little hopes of success if assaulted. The right 
wing alone seemed to present no local impediments. In 
this state of things Frederick resolved on making an 



230 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

.effort to outflank the enemy, and then charge them with 
all his disposable force in the rear. His troops, although 
completely overpowered by the heat of the weather and the 
toils of the march, were permitted to rest but till noon, 
when orders to march were again given. The Austrian 
leader recognizing Frederick's intention, took the neces- 
sary steps to strengthen his right wing. 

The Prussian van opened the battle. Zieten's hussars 
and the grenadiers who formed this advanced body at- 
tacked the enemy in the rear, and in spite of a most ob- 
stinate resistance obtained considerable advantages. But 
Frederick, suddenly altering his plans, ordered the re- 
maining portion of the army to halt, and commanded the 
infantry of his left wing to advance and attack the enemy's 
centre. Prince Maurice of Dessau, who commanded the 
main body, represented the dangers to which they would 
be necessarily exposed by so perilous a movement, but 
without being able to induce the king to alter his resolves. 
The prince, after repeated remonstrances, insisted that, 
without a breach of duty, and taking the most serious 
responsibility upon himself, he could not venture to ex- 
ecute the order. Opposition of this nature was more 
than the temper of Frederick could bear, and riding up 
to the prince with his drawn sword in hand, he inquired 
in a threatening tone, whether the prince meant to obey 
his orders or not. The latter yielded, and his regiments 
charged the enemy. Was it some new storm of im- 
petuosity — was it defiance of fate, that thus warped 
Frederick from the execution of his first plans, so wisely 
and maturely laid ? 

At first it did seem as if he had not placed too much 
reliance on the heroism and valor of his warriors. De- 
spite the raking fire that swept their ranks, they dashed 
gallantly amongst the Austrian lines, and joining the 
regiments that had formed the onset, rushed upon a 
frightful battery. The enemy's right wing began to 
waver, and victory appeared to incline to the side of 
the Prussians. Daun had actually given the order for a, 



CAMPAIGN OF 1757. PRAGUE AND KOLLIN. 231 

retreat, but a subordinate officer, perceiving at this critical 
moment that the battle appeared to take a more favorable 
turn, withheld the order from circulation. The Prussian 
centre had, contrary to the express commands of the king, 
through the imprudent zeal of its general, joined in the 
battle, and advancing on a village which was held by 
Croats, drove them out, and strove to escalade the heights 
of the Austrian position ; but owing to the precipitous 
nature of the ground, which was covered with slippery, 
parched grass, every step was insecure, whilst they were 
at the same time exposed to a frightful shower of grape 
from the heights. The valiant Prussians were mowed 
down in lines, and through this disastrous attempt the 
left wing and van were deprived of the necessary support. 
Frederick dispatched the cuirassiers and dragoons to their 
aid, to assist them in retaining the advantages they had 
already gained. But these valiant horseman after advan- 
cing twice in the teeth of a furious cannonade, were each 
time forced to retire. The third charge was led on by 
Frederick in person but proved equally ineffectual 

The heroic Prussian troops, who had now stood for 
two hours the brunt of the battle, had by this time ex- 
hausted their ammunition, and it was impossible to send 
them any succor. The Saxon cavalry, which had issued 
from Poland and joined the Austrians, now advancing 
upon them, followed by Austrian troopers, a general 
butchery ensued. The Saxons, goaded on by the memory 
of the defeat they had sustained twelve years before, 
shouted in triumph at every sabre-stroke, " In return for 
Striegau ! " The Prussians made a desperate resistance, 
but Avith so much loss that those who remained were 
compelled to betake themselves to flight. Once more 
did Frederick endeavor to defy fate ; he followed the 
fugitives, striving to rally them, and then, attended by a 
body of but forty, advanced, in the hope of being joined 
by others, against the hostile battery. In vain ! These 
few devoted soldiers were again forced to fly beneath a 
shower of bullets. Frederick, not observing that he 



232 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

stood alone, attended by but a few aide-de-camps, was 
standing in front of the battery, when one of the officers 
at length inquired : " Sire, do you mean to capture the 
battery single handed? " Hereupon Frederick reined in 
his steed, and drawing out his glass, calmly surveyed the 
works, from whence the bullets fell thick as hail ; then, 
turning his horse's head, rode slowly and silently toward 
the left wing of his army, which the Duke of Bevern 
commanded, and here gave the signal for retreat. 

The right wing had as yet taken no part in the action, 
and was consequently now employed in covering the re- 
treat of the rest of the army. But before this retreat 
actually commenced, the right wing became engaged with 
the Austrian left, and a new struggle ensued, which was 
contested Avith as much ardor as any of the previous 
ones of this sanguinary day. The Prussians had again to 
yield to the murderous fire of the Austrians — whole regi- 
ments were swept away. At length, towards eight 
o'clock in the evening, the right wing of the Prussian 
army succeeded likewise in retiring. Daun, contenting 
himself with holding the field of battle, and resting satis- 
fied with this his first victory over the Prussian arms, per- 
mitted Frederick's army to retire over Planian to Nim- 
burg, and in a truly chivalrous spirit sent the vanquished 
such of their wounded as they had been obliged to leave 
behind them in Planian. 

Frederick, as soon as he saw that the battle was irrevo- 
cably lost, retired, attended by a small escort, towards 
Nimburg. This evening's ride was accompanied with 
much peril, as the neighboring villages and woods 
swarmed with troops of Austrian hussars and Croats. In- 
deed, in the middle of this journey the report was suddenly 
spread that some hussars were advancing, and the king 
was obliged to proceed for half-an-hour in full gallop. It 
became necessary to make a short halt in a village in order 
to water and breathe the panting steeds. Here an old 
trooper advanced to the king, and offering him a cool 
draught which he had taken from a horse-bucket, ad- 



CAMPAIGN OF 1757. PRAGUE AND KOLLIN. 233 

dressed him : " Drink, your majesty ! and let battles ba 
battles : it's well that you are safe. Let us trust in God 
that it will soon be our turn to conquer ! " These words 
must have been consoling to the ear of the king, but there 
were few in the army who re-echoed them. On the arrival 
of the officers belonging to Frederick's staff, they found 
him seated on a water-pipe, his eyes intently fixed upon 
the ground, describing figures in the sand with his cane. 
Xo one ventured to interrupt his train of gloomy reflection 
Springing up soon after, with an air of composure and 
forced gaiety, he gave the necessary orders for the night. 
At sight of the small remnant of his much-cherished 
Guards, the tears started in his eyes. " Children," said he, 
" this has been a sad day for you ! " They replied, that 
they had been badly led on. " Have but patience," said 
Frederick, " and I'll set all to rights." This was the first 
battle which Frederick had lost. His losses amounted to 
nearly 14,000 men, while those of the Austrians hardly 
exceeded 8,000. But Frederick's chief loss was the loss of 
confidence and self-reliance now observable throughout an 
army which had hitherto deemed itself invincible, and 
whose confidence could only be restored by future victories. 
On news of the defeat being communicated to the officers 
of tlie army in front of Prague, a sullen silence of several 
moments' duration ensued, and Prince William of Prussia, 
although of a particularly mild disposition, broke out into 
loud complaints at the conduct of his royal brother. 

All idea of carrying on an offensive war in Bohemia had 
to be now relinquished, and the siege of Prague raised. 
On the second day after this defeat the besieging armj^ 
abandoned its intrenchments, under sound of trumpet and 
drum ; and the Prince of Lorraine, who commanded the 
Austrians in the town, and had received intelligence of 
the victory from a sutler who had come from KoUin, in- 
terposed no obstacles in the way of its departure. It was 
not until the last divisions of the Prussian army, which 
had been too dilatory in their movements, were filmg off, 
that the besieged ventured on a sortie, which was certainly 



234 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

productive of considerable loss. Daun felt still less dis- 
posed to pursue the Prussians ; being snugly intrenched 
in his camp, he contented himself, whilst the two Prussian 
corps were forming a junction, with singing pseans of 
victory, and then advanced with his army towards Prague 
to join the Prince of Lorraine. 

With a view to embarrass the future operations of his 
enemies by consuming all the provisions in the northern 
part of the country, Frederick remained as long as possible 
in Bohemia ; for this purpose he divided his army into 
two corps, which took up fortified positions on both sides 
of the Elbe ; that on the east side, which was afterwards 
to retire towards Lusatia, being under the command of his 
brother, the Prince of Prussia. The Austrian army re- 
mained for several weeks inactive, and then directed its 
main strength against the corps under the command of 
the Prince of Prussia. The latter, on the danger becom- 
ing imminent, sent Frederick frequent details of the en- 
emy's motions ; but Frederick was now as little disposed 
as he had been previous to the battle ox Kollin, to listen 
to statements regarding the strength or courage of the 
Austrians ; the consequence was, that Prince William 
found himself under the necessity of retiring hastily on 
Zittau, where considerable magazines had been collected. 
He, however, unfortunately selected a route which, 
from passing through a chain of mountains, offered 
many obstacles to his progress, and so impeded the retreat 
of his army as to cause it considerable loss, whilst the en- 
emy, who had taken a shorter path, reached Zittau con- 
temporaneously with the Prussians. Prince Willinr.i 
avoided an action, but the Prince of Lorraine so bom- 
barded the town of Zittau, where the Prussian stores v/ero 
but feebly defended, that nothing soon remained of it be- 
yond a heap of ruins. Intelligence of his brother's retreat 
did not reach Frederick until he had set out with his 
army for Saxony. After securing the frontiers here he 
marched with the main body of his army to the succor 
of his brother, and came up with him in Bautzen, where 



CAMPAIGN OF 1757. PRAGUE AND KOLLIN. 235 

a very unfriendly meeting took place. The prince, and 
the several generals of his army, with the exception 
of Winterfeldt, whom Federick had appointed in a meas- 
ure the prince's adviser, had to listen to the severest re- 
proaches for the losses occasioned by their retreat, and 
Frederick distinctly informed the generals that every one 
of them deserved to lose his head. Prince William, in 
consequence of this, retired from the army, proceeded to 
Berlin fell sick, and died the following summer. 



viae FREDERICK THE GREAT. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

CONTINUATION OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1757. 

In the meantime, the horizon had become gradually 
more and more overcast ; new dangers began to crowd 
in on all sides, and Frederick could desire nothing more 
ardently than to be able to come to an engagement with 
the Austrians now stationed in Upper Lusatia ; but the 
Prince of Lorraine had taken up so admirable a position, 
that any attempt to dislodge him was evident madness, 
and Frederick's feigned marches, intended to draw him 
from this strong position, proved fruitless, as the Aus- 
trians did not move. Another species of stratagem which 
Frederick put in requisition proved equally unsuccessful. 
Whilst supping one evening in the open air, in company 
with several of his general officers, nothing was talked of 
but the attack which was to take place on the following 
day, and the conversation was sufficiently loud to be over- 
heard by such as crowded round the royal table, amongst 
whom it was natural to suppose that some spies were 
present. Preparations were even made during the night 
for the threatened attack. Numerous deserters passed 
over to the Prince of Lorraine, but he did not allow him- 
self to be deceived by this ruse de guerre. 

There was now no further time to be lost for the de- 
fence of Saxony, unless Frederick would consent to sur- 
render it to the French and imperial armies who were in 
full march upon it. Accordingly, leaving the greater 
portion of his army behind him, under the command of 
the Duke of Severn, to protect Lusatia and Silesia against 



CONTINUATION OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1757. 237 

the Austrians, he proceeded in person, at the head of 
twelve thousand men, in the direction of Dresden, intend- 
ing to draw from thence such troops as might be stationed 
there, and then march towards the river Saale. Winter- 
feldt, whose courage and experience rendered him an ob- 
ject of Frederick's special favor, was associated with the 
Duke of Bevern in the command of the army thus left 
behind. The Austrians, who had Iiitherto remained in- 
active, now, on the arrival of the chancellor, Count 
Kaunitz, in the camp of the Prince of Lorraine, made, 
in order to afford the favorite of the Empress a proof of 
the activity of the army, a sudden attack on an isolated 
Prussian corps, to which it was of course far superior in 
numbers. Winterfeldt, who commanded this corps, was, 
during the engagement, shot m the breast, and died with- 
in a few hours. The Austrians obtained a victory in an 
unequal contest, but its fruits were comparatively insig- 
nificant. The Duke of Bevern, however, becoming appre- 
hensive lest the Austrians might cut him off from Silesia, 
proceeded in that direction, and the Prince of Lorraine, 
after having first permitted his adversary to cross the 
different streams which divide Lusatia from Silesia, pre- 
pared to follow him. On Winterfeldt's death being com- 
municated to Frederick, he exclaimed in anguish, " The 
numbers of my foes have never appalled me, but where 
shall I find a second Winterfeldt ! " 

The successes of his numerous enemies were now such, 
that any other person except Frederick must have given 
himself up to despair. On the Lower Rhine a powerful 
French army, under Marshal D'Estray, had entered West- 
phalia ; its progress was opposed by an army composed 
of Hanoverians, Hessians, Br uns wickers, and other Ger- 
mans under the command of the Duke of Cumberland. 
Some Prussian troops, which had been until then incor- 
porated with the allies, were now, as the army under the 
Duke of Cumberland advanced towards the Weser, drawn 
off and employed to strengthen Magdeburg. In Hast^n- 
beck, at no great distance from Hameln, an engagement) 



238 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

ensued between the French and allied armies. The losses 
and advantages on both sides were pretty equal, and 
both leaders supposing themselves vanquished, beat a 
retreat at the same moment ; but the French, the more 
cunning of the two, soon discovering their error, took 
rapid possession of the field of battle, and thus appeared 
as victors. The Duke of Cumberland retired in all haste, 
pursued by the French army, and considered himself so 
completely destitute of aid, as to conclude an ignominious 
treaty on the 8th of September, in pursuance of which 
the whole allied army engaged to disperse. The Hanove- 
rians were permitted to take up their cantonments near 
Stade. Brunswick was occupied by the French, w^ho 
poured into the Prussian provinces of the Elbe, and com- 
mitted every species of barbarity. The Duke of Riche- 
lieu, who had been sent from Paris to supersede Marshal 
D'Estray, was not slow in taking advantage of this state 
of things for recruiting his shattered finances. 

Somewhat subsequent to the incursion of the French 
army, a considerable Russian corps had entered Prussia. 
The wild hosts of Asiatic barbarians w^ho accompanied 
this army laid the land waste, and inflicted indescribable 
hardships on the inhabitants. Memel was captured. The 
Russians advanced as far as the river Pregel, where they 
encountered a Prussian army not much more than a 
quarter of their number, under Field-marshal Lewald. 
On the 30th of August a battle ensued near Gross- 
Jacgerndorf. The steady discipline of the Prussians ap- 
peared likely to prove victorious over the brute force 
of innumerable barbarian hordes, until the advantages 
which had been already won were again lost through the 
incapacity of the Prussian leader. The Prussians were 
obliged to abandon the field of battle, but without being 
pursued by the Russians, whose losses amounted to at 
least double those of the former. 

A Swedish army which had landed at Stralsund, after 
ravaging Pomerania and Uppermark, having been concen- 
trated with the imperial executionary army under Prince 



CONTINUATION OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1757, 239 

Hildburghausen, and a special French corps, under Prince 
Soubise, furnished towards the close of August, in pursu- 
ance of a treaty with Austria, now took possession of 
Erfurt. 

Thus every point of Frederick's kingdom was now 
assailed, and hostile armies had already taken up fortified 
positions in the very heart of his dominions. To this 
frightful combination of hostile forces, he had nothing to 
oppose beyond a small army, already in part melted away, 
and which, through the defeat at KoUin and the retreat 
from Bohemia, had become entirely dispirited and dis- 
heartened. According to all human calculation, escape 
from destruction was now impossible ; and to complete 
the measure of his misfortunes, whilst his enemies were 
making the most rapid advances upon him, and whilst 
the best and the bravest of his friends were falling around 
him, another calamity occurred which affected him the 
most severely of all — the death of his mother, Which took 
place shortly after the battle of Kollin. Her energetic 
and decided character had attached him to her more closely 
and sincerely than any one could have believed. A mor- 
bid melancholy now seized his mind and although by 
immense efforts he succeeded in disguising the torpor of 
his feelings, and appeared even cheerful and gay, yet 
those who were more intimately attached to his person 
shuddered, Avhen they recollected that he always carried 
a deadly poison about his person, and knew him to be 
resolved not to outlive the downfall of his kingdom. In 
the poems composed by him about this period death forms 
his only theme ; in it he hopes to find shelter from the 
storms of fate ; and dwells with gloomy satisfaction on 
the pleasurable feelings evoked by a voluntary exit from 
this world of care and strife. 

But the king still retained the power of clothing his 
grief in words, of wrapping his thoughts, as it were, in an 
artificial dress, and this it was which saved him. Poetry 
was the anodyne which preserved him from taking 
the last frightful step, and we soon find in his poems 



240 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

another tone than that of complete prostration. Desperate 
as was his situation, the poetic temperament of his mind 
enabled him to look out from the dark canopy of the 
present at the coming brightness of the future, and in a 
spirit of prophecy to announce the glorious results of that 
frightful contest in which his kingdom and himself were 
then engaged. Thus, in an ode dedicated to his younger 
brother. Prince Henry, he holds up tjie conduct of the 
Roman people, who had likewise to wade to sovereignty 
and power through a thousand adversities and dangers, 
as an example to the Prussians, and endeavors to impress 
upon the minds of his people the fact, that no nation 
ever yet attained supremacy or fame without having first 
passed through the fiery ordeal of privation and suffering. 
He likewise expresses his entire confidence in the brilliant 
future reserved by destiny to gild the name and fame of 
Prussia. And though he concedes the possibility of his 
being neither the architect nor contemporary of his 
country's greatness, yet by an oracular prescience, inspired 
by the yearning of his heart, he gives utterance to a 
prophecy, the verification of which was the work of his 
own hand. From this moment may be dated the most 
heroic achievements of the great king. 



CAMPAIGN OF 1757. ROS3BACH. 241 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

^;>NTINUATION OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1757. ROSSBACH. 

Numerous petty skirmishes delayed Frederick's pro- 
gress towards Erfurt. He at length arrived, but the 
combined army of imperial troops and French had retired 
on the appearance of the Prussian van, and evacuated 
the town. The combined troops were further forced to 
abandon Gotha and retire with loss on Eisenach. But 
Frederick was again obliged to weaken his petty army by 
dispatching two corps, one to oppose the French under 
Richelieu, and the other, the Austrian army, which had 
penetrated into Lusatia and threatened Mark Branden- 
burg. With a view to conceal the paucity of his numbers 
from observation, divisions of the Prussian troops were 
scattered through the villages and obliged to change their 
quarters repeatedly, every regiment entering its canton- 
ment under a new name. The spies faithfully reported 
the number and names of the regiments, and informed the 
Prince of Soubise of the strength of the Prussians, who 
was thus deterred, in spite of his great numerical superi- 
ority, from hazarding any decisive step. 

As soon, however, as Soubise learned that Frederick 
had occupied Gotha with but a few cavalry regiments 
under General Seidlitz, and had retired with his main 
forces towards Erfurt, he resolved on again advancing on 
Gotha. Seidlitz, ayIio by his brilliant achievements at 
KoUin had already obtained the highest military reputa- 
tion, immediately withdrew from the town, but it was not 
in his nature to leave his enemies an undisputed mastery ; 
i6 



Q42 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

he drew up his little army at some short distance, in order 
of battle, and in such a manner that at first view it would 
appear to be pretty numerous. A dragoon was dispatched 
to the town to play the character of a deserter, and state 
that the king was approaching. In consequence, as soon 
as the French and imperial troops, after occupying Gotha, 
advanced to give battle, and saw before them long lines 
with, as they conceived, infantry mixed amongst the 
cavalry, (Seidlitz having made a couple of squadrons of 
hussars dismount in order to deceive the enemy,) they 
did not doubt for a moment that they were now about to 
encounter the whole Prussian army. Seidlitz gave the 
signal for attack, and the enemy speedily retired. A 
body of Prussian hussars and dragoons dashed in full 
gallop towards the town, when Soubise and his generals, 
who were being entertained at the ducal table, mounted 
their steeds in all haste, and narrowly escaped being made 
prisoners. Besides an immense number of prisoners, the 
whole baggage of the French fell into the hands of the 
Prussians. The hussars were much amused with the 
pomatum, the powdering-cloaks, the queues, the dressing- 
gowns, shawls, and parrots, which were found in numbers 
amongst the baggage of the French officers. The attend- 
ants, servants, cooks, hairdressers, mistresses, and players 
were sent back without ransom. Seidlitz pursued the 
hostile army as far as Eisenach. Frederick paid the 
highest tribute of praise to this daring exploit : it was of 
little positive advantage to him, but he thereby became 
acquainted with the character of his enemy, and his little 
army derived confidence from the conduct of the French ; 
but Frederick was again obliged to fall back on Thuringia, 
in consequence of intelligence that the Austrian army, 
stationed in Lusatia, was marching on Mark Branden- 
burg, that a corps of Hungarian hussars under Haddig was 
already in advance on Berlin, and it seemed likewise not 
improbable that the Swedes would make a simultaneous 
attack on the province of Jlark. On receiving this intel- 
ligence, Frederick proceeded to Torgau, whilst PriucQ 



/ 

CAMPAIGN OF 1757. ROSSBACH. 243 

Maurice of Dessau, at the head of a special corps, en- 
deavored to check General Haddig's march on Berlin. 
The latter had, however, arrived a day earlier than his 
adversary ; the court had fled in all speed to Spandau, 
and the town had paid a contribution of two hundred 
thousand thalers, besides giving twenty-four pairs of 
ladies' gloves as a present to the Empress. The latter 
were carefully packed up, but on the chest being opened, 
they were found to be all for the left hand. Haddig 
retired rapidly on the approach of Prince Maurice, the 
main Austrian army remaining quietly encamped in 
Bautzen. 

A danger so considerable had now blown over without 
any proportionable loss, and more favorable tidings soon 
arrived from other quarters. The Russians had taken no 
advantage of their victory, but after leaving a garrison in 
Memel, had again crossed the Russian frontier. The 
reason of this movement was, the sudden indisposition of 
the Empress Elizabeth. Bestuscheff, hostile as he was 
disposed towards Frederick, conceived it good policy to 
ingratiate himself by this movement with Elizabeth's suc- 
cessor. For this step, however, the all-powerful minister, 
on the Empress, contrary to all expectation, recovering, 
was sent to Siberia. The Swedes had met with an unex- 
pected resistance from the Pomeranian militia, which had 
of its own accord assembled in considerable numbers in 
that province. By its exertions Stettin, although very 
feebly garrisoned, was protected against the Swedish 
army, and the latter detained from its march on Berlin. 
Throughout the whole course of the Seven Years' War, 
these milijbias, at a time when standing armies only were 
known, formed a peculiar and remarkable feature, and 
played an important part in the defence of the land and 
its fortresses. For this reason, as well as from other 
proofs of Pomeranian fidelity, Frederick declares his wish 
in his political testament, "that his successors should 
chiefly rely on the Pomeranians as the principal pillars of 
the Prussian state." In imitation of this Pomeranian, 



244 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

militia, similar corps were instituted in the provinces of 
Mark and Magdeburg. On the Russian army retiring 
from Prussia Proper, Frederick ordered up the corps 
stationed there to support the Pomeranians against the 
Swedes, who were speedily compelled to fall back on 
Stralsund. 

Frederick had in the meanwhile opened negotiations 
with the Duke of Richelieu. The latter did not belong to 
the Pompadour faction, but to that smaller section of the 
French court, who desired the continuance of the old 
league which had subsisted between France and Prussia 
The flatteries contained in Frederick's letters, and an ac- 
ceptable present of a hundred thousand thalers, rendered 
the French minister disposed to enter into his views. 
The articles of the agreement were not exactlj^ such as 
could be communicated to the French court, but Richelieu 
readily entered into a compact not to take any further 
measures at present. To the King of England Frederick 
had likewise written, on receiving intelligence of the dis- 
graceful treaty of Seeven, requiring the monarch not to 
abandon him, now that the Duke of Cumberland had sub- 
mitted to such a treaty. In this letter Frederick touched 
the weak point in the character of George, for the latter 
had heard of the convention with the greatest indignation, 
and publicly addressed the Duke of Cumberland with the 
words, " Here is the son who has destroyed me and dis- 
graced himself ! " The consequence was, that England 
entered into Frederick's views with energy and alacrity, 
and all manner of excuses were invented for the non- rati- 
fication of this disgraceful treaty. 

An enemy, Avhich in former centuries had been the most 
dangerous of any, was now got rid of in a very simple, 
almost comical manner. We mean the imperial ban, which 
the Reichshofrath, then assembled in Ratisbon, were busy 
in pronouncing against the King of Prussia, as he ap- 
peared to be now completely prostrated. On the 14th 
October, the grand advocate, clad in the robes of an im- 
perial notary, and accompanied by two witnesses, pre- 



CAMPAIGN OF 1757. ROSSBACH. 2tt5 

fiented himself at the residence of the Prussian ambassador 
in Ratisbon, " to insjnuate to the latter the fiscal citation 
of the ban." This consisted of a " summons of the Prince 
Elector and Margrave of Brandenburg, to see and to hear 
how he was about to be declared under the ban of the 
empire, and deprived of all fiefs, rights, graces, freedoms, 
and expectancies whatsoever." Baron Plotho, the Prus- 
sian ambassador, received the notary in his dressing-gown. 
The result of this citation is detailed in an official docu- 
ment, conceived by the delegate in the following words : 
" And thereupon his excellency. Baron Plotho, did fall 
into violent rage and fury, so that he, the same, could not 
hold nor govern himself, but with trembling hands and 
burning looks stretching both his arms towards me, and 
holding the fiscal citation in his right hand, did burst out 
into the following f ormalia : ' What, you scoundrel ! 
insinuate ? ' Whereupon I replied, ' This was my duty 
as notary, ^^hich I must fulfil.' But in spite of this, he, 
the aforesaid Baron von Plotho, did fall upon me in all 
rage, seize me by the front parts of my mantle, with the 
inquiry whether I would retract. Whereupon, and on my 
refusing so to do, he, the said baron, did drive and push 
the said citation between the folds of my gown with all 
violence, and holding me by the mantle, did drive me out 
of the room, and called to two attendants, with the com- 
mand to pitch me down the stairs." The matter rested 
here for the present; for Frederick soon obtained new 
victories, which induced the imperial council to act with 
more caution. 

Frederick now intended to set out for Silesia, where 
the Duke of Bevern was hard pressed. But he suddenly 
received intelligence that the allied army, composed of 
imperial and French troops, and strengthened by a divi- 
sion of Richelieu's army, had abandoned their former 
state of inactivity, were advancing on Saxony, and had 
actually arrived in the neighborhood of Leipzig : he ac- 
cordingly resolved on first turning his arms against this 
foe and driving it back on Thuringia, in order that it 



246 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

might not take up its winter-quarters too close to the 
Saxon electorate : he therefore concentrated the different 
corps of his army with all expedition, and covered Leipzig. 
The enemy retired to the Saale, and in order to prevent 
the Prussians from crossing this river, took possession of 
Halle, Merseburg, and Weissenfels. Frederick followed 
his enemies with all speed, and even penetrated, at the 
head of his advanced guard, into Weissenfels, whilst the 
enemy fled across the stream, and hastily setting fire to 
the handsome bridge, in order to cut off the king's ap- 
proach, threw a considerable number of their own troops 
into the hands of the Prussians. Frederick wished to 
save the bridge, but as it had been filled with conbus- 
tible matters, it was in an instant completely wrapt in 
flames, and sharp volleys of musketry prevented the 
Prussians from being able to extinguish the fire. As Fred- 
erick was here riding along the bank of the river recon- 
noitring, he escaped, through the chivalry of the French 
leader, the Duke of Criilon, the most imminent peril. 
The latter had directed two officers to take up a post on a 
small island in the Saale, and watch the motions of the 
Prussians ; one of these hurried forward with intelligence 
of the king's being in the neighborhood, and requested 
permission to fire on him from the brushwood, but was rep- 
rimanded by the Duke, who informed him, that he had 
not been posted there for that purpose, and that the 
sacred person of majesty should always be respected. 

Two corps, led on by Frederick from Weissenfels in 
the direction of Merseburg, found the bridges broken do\vn, 
and the enemy in retreat, encamped a few miles on the 
opposite side of the Saale, at Miicheln. The Prussian 
troops not having been interrupted in their operations of 
pontooning and crossing the Saale, likcAvise encamped 
on the other side. The position of the allied troops had 
been selected with so little tact, that the Prussian hussars 
found opportunities of penetrating into the hostile camp, 
and carrying off horses and even soldiers out of their 
tents. Frederick had resolved on coming to an engage- 



CAMPAIGN OF 1757. ROSSBACH. 247 

ment; but on advancing, the day following, the 4th of 
November, he discovered that the enemy, warned by 
the daring of the Prussian hussars, had taken up a very 
strong position during the night. He accordingly gave 
up all idea of attacking an enemy so far outnumbering 
him, and retiring, formed a camp in the neighbor- 
hood of Rossbach. This fancied flight of the Prussian 
king was a subject of great joy in the enemy's camp. 
Trumpet and drum resounded from every height, as if in 
celebration of some great victory. The French officers 
became witty, and asserted that much honor was done 
the Marquis of Brandenburg by their entering into a war 
of this kind with him. Messengers were dispatched to 
Paris to announce Frederick's caj)ture. They did not 
recollect that, superior as they were in numbers, they 
were deficient in that spirit which Frederick had breathed 
into the Prussian army : that the jealousies existing be- 
tween the leaders of the German and French troops must 
necessarily prevent them from acting in concert or with 
decision; and that on the troops of the empire, which 
formed a motley mass, devoid of all military organization 
and discipline, no reliance whatsoever could be placed ; 
that the discipline of the French troops was anything but 
exemplary ; and, further, that pride is generally the pre- 
cursor of a fall. The morning of the 5th of November 
dawned, and Frederick received intelligence that the 
enemy had abandoned their position, and were advancing 
in an extended curve round his army, whilst a single corps 
remained directly opposite to him. It was evidently tbeir 
intention to cut off this retreat, and by encircling him on 
all sides to completely annihilate him. Frederick re- 
mained the whole of the forenoon perfectly tranquil, as if 
wholly unaware of the danger which impended, ordered 
dinner, and sat down to table with his generals. The 
enemy were delighted at this improvidence of the Prus- 
sian army, Avhilst the leaders of the latter, who surmised 
the king's object, had made every preparation for de- 
parture. At length, about half-past three in the af ternoo% 



ojs FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

Frederick gave orders to break up the camp, and tho 
French officers could not refrain from expressing their 
astonishment at the rapidity with which this manoeuvre 
was executed : they compared it to the shifting of an opera 
scene. Becoming now apprehensive that the Prussian 
army might escape them, the enemy put their cohimns in 
full motion. But Frederick advanced in the same direc- 
tion; the cavalry, headed by Seidlitz, formed the van, 
and got out of view of the enemy beneath a ridge of hills, 
whilst the infantry became partly covered by some marshy 
ground. The Prussian cannon were now posted on the 
most considerable of the surrounding heights, and their 
thunder opened the fight, their position rendering them 
very effective, whereas the enemy's gun's were totally 
inefficient from their low range. By some extraordinary 
chance a great number of hares happened to be shut in 
between both armies, and being startled by the roar of the 
guns, made repeated efforts to escape in different directions. 
As soon as the first French bullets had killed a hare in 
front of the Prussian lines a joyous shout arose from the 
latter, declaring the French were butchering one another. 
The French columns, with the cavalry at their head, 
were pushed on in order to outflank the Prussians ; but 
Seidlitz had, without being perceived, already outflanked 
them, and suddenly halting with his valiant squadrons on 
a height, took advantage of a favorable moment, and made 
a general charge without waiting for the infantry. His 
squadrons were no sooner drawn up in serried array, than 
he advanced in front of the lines, and in presence of the 
whole division tossed his tobacco-pipe into the air, as a 
signal for the onset : — in an instant his men fell upon the 
hostile cavalry, who in vain strove to unfold their lines. 
They were completely overthrown; some regiments at- 
tempted to rally, but in vain. A general flight ensued, 
and the narrowness of the path impeding their progress, 
a vast number of prisoners fell into the hands of the 
victors ; such as escaped continued their flight unceasingly 
as far as the river Unstrut. But Seidlitz was uow in th© 



p^iwii ,\J1 




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tx 

Ph 
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CAMPAIGN OF 1757. ROSSBACH. 2i9 

rear of the enemy's infantry. Against it Frederick had 
now likewise directed his left wing with the guns, and 
like the cavalry it had no room to deploy its lines. The 
Prussian grape carried death and destruction into the 
middle of the ranks. Tlie Prussian infantry charged on 
the flank, and the cavalry in the rear. At length all took 
to flight, and whole masses of fugitives were captured. 
The battle had not lasted two hours, when darkness com- 
ing on precluded all further pursuit. The Prussian army, 
which was not quite 22,000 strong, had lost 165 dead, and 
376 wounded, whilst the enemy, whose numbers amounted 
to 64,000 had lost between 600 and 700 dead, more than 
2,000 wounded, and upwards of 5,000 prisoners, together 
with a great number of guns, standards, flags, and the 
greater part of their baggage. Moreover, the whole of 
the Prussian army had not been by any means engaged 
in the action — but seven battalions had taken part in the 
fight, while ten battalions had not fired a single shot. 
The rejoicings of the Prussians were of course great. 
Frederick formally thanked his army, and Seidlitz, whose 
arm had been shattered by a musket-ball, received the 
most rare mark of favor — the order of the Black Eagle — 
and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general. 

On the following day the Prussian army went in pur- 
suit of the enemy, and a multitude of stragglers were 
captured. But the greater number of the enemy had fled 
so fast that it was impossible to overtake them. Many 
of the French did not halt until they had reached the 
Rhine, and perpetually fancied that the Prussian hussars 
were at their heels. In order to indemnify themselves in 
some measure for their disaster, they marked their path 
with acts of rapine and violence of every kind. But they 
thereby roused the peasantry to some acts of severe re- 
taliation. 

Frederick treated the French prisoners with the great- 
est kindness ; he consoled such as were wounded, and, 
touched by his condescension, they declared him the 
most perfect of conquerors ; one who not only enchained 



250 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

the limbs but the hearts of his foes. On their asking his 
permission to send unsealed letters to France, he replied, 
" I cannot bring myself to regard you as my foes, and 
feel no jealousy towards you ; consequently you are at 
liberty to seal your letters, and you shall have your an- 
swers back with seals unbroken." General Custine, who 
had retired to Leipzig, having been severely v/ounded, 
was honored with a personal Aasit from Frederick, and 
the latter depicted the lively interest he felt in the 
French nation with sucli ardor, that Custine, raising 
himself slowly from his couch, uttered the words, " Sire, 
you pour oil upon my wounds." 

But in Germany — even among Frederick's opponents 
— the victory of Rossbach was received with the greatest 
joy, as a humiliation of the French, who were not very 
popular. The fire of enthusiasm, Avhich had been long 
since kindled by the acts of the German hero, now burst 
into flame. On all sides were heard songs proclaiming 
the victory of the Prussians, and deriding their oppo- 
nents. The German once more felt the pride of being a 
German. 

These chants of victory were, of course, poison to those 
who could not forego their hatred towards Frederick. The 
Queen of Poland, whose intrigues in Dresden against him 
were without end, could not endure her feelings of ex- 
asperation any longer. One evening, having dismissed 
her household in anger, she retired to rest, and was found 
dead in her bed the following morning. 

The enthusiasm of the Germans was loudly re-echoed 
in foreign climes, even by the French nation, who re- 
regarded it as a defeat of the court party, and who vented 
their resentment in the most violent invectives against 
Prince Soubise. In the coffee-houses of Paris Prussia be- 
came for a long time the popular theme. The court endeav- 
ored to console Prince Soubise by raising him to the rank 
of marshal. The sympathy which the people of England 
testified for Frederick knew no bounds. He was wor- 
shipped by the people ; his portrait suspended in all the 



CAMPAIGN OF 1757. ROSSBACH. 251 

London shops, and his victories commemorated by general 
illuminations. Contemporaneously with the news of the 
victory of Rossbach a favorable change in the English 
ministry took place ; refusals to ratify the treaty of See- 
ven on the ground of the French having first broken it by 
renewing the war followed ; and as the English were in 
want of a good general, Frederick recommended them the 
Duke of BrunsAvick as the best of his leaders. The duke 
was, in truth, immediately summoned, and taking the 
command of the Hanoverian army and its allies, obtained 
during the winter several advantages over the great 
French army, which was thus averted from the Prussian 
frontier, and Frederick thereby fully secured in this quar- 
ter. 



252 ' FREDERICK THE GREAT, 



CHAPTER XXVin. 

CONCLUSION OP THE CAMPAIGN OF 1757. LEUTHEN. 

Unconquered and unconquerable, Frederick had 
freed himself from all grounds of apprehension as to one 
of his enemies ; it now remained to repel the second, but 
far more dangerous foe. The Duke of Bevern had re- 
tired from the borders of Lusatia on Breslau, and had 
taken up a fortified position in front of that city. The 
Austrian army, under the Prince of Lorraine, so very 
superior to his in number, had followed in his rear. A 
special corps had invested Schweidnitz, which had been 
but lately fortified, and was considered by Frederick as 
the key of Silesia. After a brief interval of repose, Fred- 
erick broke up his camp and hastened to the aid of the 
Duke of Bevern. The Austrian corps which was stationed 
in Lusatia was to be first driven from its position, in 
order that the march of the Prussian army might not be 
retarded ; and Field- marshal Keith received orders to ex- 
ecute this manoeuvre, and make an incursion with a small 
corps on Bohemia. Keith conducted this expedition Avith 
such courage and skill, that the Austrians were not alone 
forced to evacuate Lusatia, in order to cover Bohemia, 
but an immense number of their magazines and a con- 
siderable quantity of plunder fell into Keith's hands. 

But whilst Frederick was yet in Lusatia, he received 
intelligence that Schweidnitz had capitulated on the 14th 
of November; whereby a whole corps, a magazine, a 
quantity of munitions of war, and a military chest had 
fallen into the hands of the enemy, who thereby obtained 



CAMPAIGN OF 1T5:. LEUTHEN. 253 

the command of the Bohemian highlands. On the 25th 
of November news arrived that tlie Duke of Bevern had 
been attacked and beaten by the Austrians, and that the 
duke himself had fallen into their hands. Two days 
afterwards Frederick learned that Breslau had likewise 
surrendered to the enemy, and that the whole garrison, 
iiinounting to 5000 men, had gone over to the Austrians. 
The remnant of Bevom's army had been conducted by 
General Zieten to Glogau. Silesia seemed now irrecover- 
ably lost, and it appeared altogether vain to expect that 
Frederick could prevent the Austrians from taking up 
their winter-quarters in the heart of the country. Such 
of the inhabitants as were favorably disposed towards 
Austria, exliibited the greatest glee ; and many of the 
officials paid their homage to the Empress: even the 
Prince-Bishop of Breslau, Count Schafgotsch, who was 
indebted solely to the King of Prussia for his dignity, and 
had been the object of numerous acts of kindness, so far 
forgot himself as to treat his benefactor with the most 
contemptuous scorn, and trod under foot the order of the 
black eagle with which he had been decorated. 

Despite all this Frederick did not blench. In defiance 
of the Avretched state of the roads, he hurried by forced 
marches on to Breslau, and on the 28th of November ar- 
rived in Barchwitz, and there took up his camp on the op- 
posite side of the Katzbach, in order to give his troops 
some short period of repose. The Austrians were en- 
camped in an admirable situation in front of Breslau, 
but Frederick was resolved to attack them wherever he 
should meet them ; were it even, as he himself expressed 
it, on the top of the Zobtenburg. Near Barchwitz he 
was joined by Zieten with the remnant of Bevern's army. 
" This army was altogether dispirited," says Frederick him- 
self, " and entirely broken down from the effects of its 
late defeat." The officers were reminded of their duty, of 
their former exploits ; and to dispel those gloomy visions 
which were of but so late an origin, even wine was used. 
The king conversed ^dth the soldiers, and ordered pro- 



254 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

visions to be distributed freely amongst them. In a word, 
every possible means were employed to awaken that 
spirit of confidence in themselves, without which all hopes 
of victory were illusory. The countenances of the men 
began to brighten up by degrees, and those who had 
beaten the French at Rossbach, persuaded their comrades 
to be of good cheer. A little rest invigorated their ex- 
hausted strength, and the army was soon in a position to 
wipe out the stain on its honor inflicted on the 26th oi 
November. 

But the king did not rest satisfied even with this. His 
situation was, notwithstanding all his exertions, one of 
extreme danger. His whole army amounting to but 
32,000 men, was opposed to from 80,000 to 90,000 Aus- 
trians far better disciplined than the enemy encountered 
at Rossbach, and feeling within themselves, from their 
former successes, the elements of victory. Summoning 
his generals and the officers of his staff to his presence, 
Frederick addressed them in the following words, which 
have peen preserved in the annals of history : 

"Gentlemen, you are aware that Prince Charles of 
Lorraine has succeeded in becoming master of Schweid- 
nitz, beating the Duke of Bevern and possessing himself 
of Breslau, whilst I was necessarily absent, having been 
obliged to check the advances of the French and their 
allies. A part of Silesia, its capital, and all the muni- 
tions of war there stored up have been lost ; and my 
disasters would be regarded by me as fully crowned and 
insurmountable, were it not that I place the most un- 
bounded confidence m your gallantry and courage, — in 
that resolution, — in that love of country, which you have 
on so many occasions, and so nobly evinced. With the 
most heartfelt gratitude do I acknowledge these services 
rendered to your father-land and myself. There is not 
one amongst you who is not distinguished by some great, 
some chivalrous exploit. I can consequently flatter my- 
self in the hope that, when occasion offers, you will noh 
LCI to satisfy the demands which your country now mahc.j 



CAMPAIGN OF 1757. LEUTHEN. 255 

upon your courage and devotion. The decisive moment 
is approaching, and I should consider that I had accom- 
plished nothing, if I left the Austrians in possession of 
Silesia. Rely then on this, that contrary to every rule of 
art, I shall attack tlie army under the command of Prince 
Charles, though it be three times my own strength, 
v/herever and whensoever I may meet it. The number 
of the foe, — the strengtli of their j)osition, are here 
matters of but secondary importance ; all these must, I 
feel confident, yield before the unflinching bravery of my 
troops, and the judicious execution of my orders. I must 
venture on this step, or all is lost. We must beat the 
foe, or be buried beneath their batteries. These are my 
feelings, and my acts shall be in accordance. Inform the 
different officers of the army of my purpose and resolves ; 
— prepare the private soldier for the events which are 
about to follow. Impress upon his mind that I am justi- 
fied in demanding the most implicit obedience from him. 
In conclusion, recollect but that you are Prussians, and 
your acts will certainly be in accordance vvdth that high 
distinction. If there be, however, any one amongst you 
who fears to share those dangers with me, he can this 
day demand his dismissal without being exposed to the 
slightest reproach from me." 

This addrc/ss from the monarch penetrated, as we are 
informed by an eye-witness, to the hearts of his hearers, 
and fanned anew the fire of enthusiasm into flame. All 
became inspired with the determination to sacrifice their 
lives for their great sovereign, who saw with inward satis- 
faction the ardor he had enkindled. A pause ensued — 
and the resolution which he read in the countenances of 
his hearers, bore ample witness of the entire devotion of 
his army towards him. With a friendly smile he con- 
tinued : " I feel already j)erfectly assured that not one of 
you will leave me. I calculate on your aiding me 
valiantly, — and on victory. Should I fall, and thus be 
disabled from acknowledging your services, you must 
look to the gratitude of your country for your rewards 



2Sc3 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

Return to the camp, and communicate to the regiments 
what you have now heard from me." Frederick had 
spoken in a tone of confidence to awaken the enthusiasm 
of his hearers ; but now that lie had convinced himself of 
the irresistible force of his words, he again addressed 
them in his character as king, alluding to the punish- 
ments which would necessarily follow any breach of duty. 
" That cavalry regiment," said he, " which does not im- 
mediately, on being ordered, burst impetuously on the 
foe, I shall immediately after the battle dismount, and 
convert it into a garrison regiment. The battalion of in- 
fantry which, be the obstacles what they may, for a mo- 
ment halts, shall lose its standards and sAvords, and I 
shall cut the facings from its uniform. Fare you well, 
gentlemen, for the present. We shall soon have beaten 
the enemy, and meet again." 

The ardor and devotion with which Frederick inspired 
the assembled officers, soon spread throughout every man 
belonging to the army ; joyous shouts rang through the 
Prussian camp ; the hoary warriors who had won so many 
fights under Frederick grasped each others hands, swore 
steadily to stand by their comrades, and conjured their 
youthful brothers in arms not to flinch from the foe, but 
boldly, in spite of every obstacle, dash into the thickest 
of the throng. An internal feeling of resolution and self- 
confidence, the ordinary precursors of coming success, 
was plainly to be read in the countenances of all. 

On the 4th of December the Prussian army broke up 
its camp. Whilst marching towards Xeumarkt, Fred- 
erick, who led the van, learned that this place was already 
occupied by Austrian hussars and Croats. Deemmg it 
advisable to gain possession of the heights on the opjjosite 
side, he stormed, without waiting for his infantry, the 
gates of the town, and took the greater number of the 
enemy prisoners. Having then occupied the heights, he 
awaited the arrival of the main body of his army. To- 
wards the evening of the same day, intelligence was 
brought him that the Austrians had abandoned their en- 



CAMPAIGN OF IToT. LEUTHEN. 357 

trenchments, and advanced across the Schweidnitz : the 
Prince of Lorraine considering it beneath his dignity to 
meet the attack of the Berlin parade, as the Austrians 
termed the little Prussian army, in fortified entrench- 
ments, had abandoned them ; but Frederick regarded this 
unexpected and imprudent step of his opponent as an 
omen of victory. On entering the chamber where he 
wished to distribute the pass-words, he said with a smile 
to those present, " The fox has left his den, and I will 
punish his arrogance ! " He then rapidly distributed the 
orders for attack, which was to take place on the follow- 
ing day. 

The morning of the awful 5th of December came, and 
the army quickly got under arms to meet the enemy. 
Frederick could obtain no distinct information as to the 
Prince of Lorraine's position, but felt confident that he 
should soon be able to discover the enemy's most vulner- 
able point, and that the attainment of this knowledge 
would be the means of his obtaining the victory. He was 
prepared for every event. Placing himself at the head of 
his army, he selected an ofiicer and fifty hussars to serve 
as his escort, and addressed them as follows : " I shall 
expose myself more than usual tliis day during the battle : 
you, sir, with your fifty men, are to form my body-guard. 
You are not to leave me for an instant, and to take care 
that I do not fall into the hands of the canaille. Should 
I fall, cover my body quickly with your mantle, and place 
it in a wagon, without mentioning the fact to any one. 
The battle is to be continued and the enemy beaten." 
The leading columns of the army had commenced singing 
gome pious hymns during the march, and the commander 
inquired of Frederick Avhether the soldiers should not re- 
main silent. " No," replied he, " let them alone. God 
will certainly grant me victory this da}^ with such an 
army under my command." 

The Prussian advanced-guard now arrived in the neigh- 
borhood of a village, in front of which some of the enemy's 
cavalry was drawn up in line. At first it was generally 



258 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

thought that this was the wing of the Austrian army ; 
but it was soon afterwards discovered that the wing stood 
further back. In order, however, to be quite certain, 
Frederick directed an attack to be made on this line, 
which was speedily driven in, and a number of prisoners 
secured. Frederick ordered the prisoners to be conducted 
in front of the ranks, and led away to IS^eumarkt, in order 
to inspire his troops Avith fresh feelings of courage ; but 
this was almost unnecessary, for he could scarcely control 
the ardor of the hussars, who had made this charge, and 
were now panting to engage the main body of the enemy. 

Taking up a position on a hill which commanded a 
view of the whole field of battle, Frederick gazed upon 
the innumerable lines, covering more than five English 
miles, which opposed his march. In their centre lay the 
village of Leuthen. From the charge made on the cavalry, 
which was in advance of the Austrian right wing, the 
enemy supposed that Frederick would attack them in 
that quarter, and accordingly made rapid evolutions to 
strengthen it. But Frederick had discovered that by at- 
tacking the enemy's left far greater advantages were to 
be obtained, and accordingly deployed his army, which 
was sheltered by a range of hills, in a lateral direction. 
The Austrians noticing this movement without being able 
to guess Frederick's intention, conceived that he wished 
to avoid a battle, and Marshal Daun said to the Prince of 
Lorraine, " Those people are moving off ; let them alone ! " 

Towards noon the Prussian army had arrived in the flank 
of the enemy's left wing, and at one o'clock the engage- 
ment commenced. Prince Charles had been so imprudent 
as to post Wurtemberg and Bavarian troops, on whom 
but little reliance could be placed, in this cjuarter. These 
were speedily routed, and flying towards Leuthen were 
received with frequent discharges of musketry from their 
own allies. This flight caused complete confusion in the 
left wing of the Austrian army. The Prussians immedi- 
ately charged the Austrian centre, which was covered by 
the village of Leuthen ; the latter, from its breadth, and 



CAMPAIGN OF 1757. LEUTHEN. 259 

Its affording no entrance, rendered the attack exceedingly 
difficult, and a sharp fusilade opened on the Prussian 
ranks from the different courts and farm-yards. A des- 
perate struggle ensued round Leuthen. A battalion of 
tlie Prussian guard stormed the village. The commander 
paused on seemg the difficulties of his situation, and was 
for a moment undecided as to hoAV he should act. The 
senior captain. Von Mollendorf, who afterwards became 
a distinguished field-marshal, called out to him not to 
hesitate, but the former could not make up his mind ; 
upon which Mollendorf sprang forward with the words, 
" Away with him ! Men, follow me ! " A barricaded 
doorway was assailed, the planks knocked in and torn 
down. Ten muskets lay levelled — the leader, at the head 
of his courageous band, dashed on. The battalion pierced 
through the open gateway, and breaking up into bodies, 
became master, but not until after an obstinate resistance, 
of the whole village. The Austrians tried to form in 
position on the heights behind the village, whilst the Prus- 
sians were now in a measure protected by Leuthen. The 
Prussian guns spread devastation far and wide through- 
out the enemy's lines, which were concentrated in dense 
masses, and the struggle lasted for hours without either 
party advancing or yielding. It was now four o'clock, 
when the Austrian cavalry of the right wing made a 
charge on the flank of the Prussians ; but for this the 
Prussian cavalry composing the left wing had been long 
waiting, and, taking the former in the flank and rear, 
soon drove them from the field of battle. This was the 
signal for a general flight. The Austrian army rushed in 
wild confusion across the Schweidnitz, leaving behind a 
numerous body of prisoners ; when night came on and put 
an end to the carnage. 

Sagacity, tact, and courage had, during four short hours, 
obtained one of the most glorious victories recorded in 
history, over an immeasurably superior force. Frederick's 
measures Avere laid in the most masterly style. Like the 
musician, who by a slight pressure of the fiinger brings 



2C0 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

I'orth a flood of melody from the pipes of the organ, so 
had he brought all the movements of his army into one 
splendid and harmonious combination. It was his spirit 
which inspired the motions of his troops — which dwelt in 
tlieir hearts and steeled their strength. 

On the field of battle Frederick conferred on the Prince 
(;i Dessau, who had led on the grand attack, a high mark 
Oi distinction, by raising him to the dignity of a field- 
marshal, which he did in the following words : " Field- 
marshal, I congratulate you on the success of the battle." 
The prince, being busied in several duties relating to the 
serAice, did not catch the exact expressions of the greet- 
ing. Frederick accordingly repeated his salutation in a 
louder tone. " You don't hear me ! I congratulate you, 
field-marshal ! " The latter returned his thanks, and the 
king replied, " You have rendered me more assistance in 
this battle, and have executed my orders better than any 
one has ever yet done ! " 

A dense fog had spread itself over the field of battle, 
but the Prussians formed with as much regularity as was 
possible under the circumstances. The darkness of the 
night rendered any pursuit of the enemy impossible, and 
thus saved it from complete annihilation. But Frederick 
was not disposed to rest — he was determined by strong 
and decisive measures to secure the fruits of this glorious 
day. It was a main object vnth him to secure the bridge 
Avhich crossed the Schweidnitz, near Lissa, in order to be 
able to continue the pursuit on the following day. To 
eSeet this object he selected Zieten and a troop of hussars, 
and set out with a few guns on the road to Lissa. A light 
was observed in an hostelry on the roadside, and after 
rapping at the door, a person was sent in to demand a 
lantern. The landlord, not liking to lose his lantern, 
came in person, and Frederick ordered him to hold his 
stirrup and serve as guide. In this way they proceeded 
in the neighborhood of Lissa, and Frederick directed the 
innkeeper to inform him of the noble guests who had 
passed the night in his house, and of the haughty language 



CAMPAIGN OF 1757. LEUTHEN. 261 

they had used towards the Prussians. Every one was 
listening with attention to the singular and humorous 
details, when on a sudden between fifty an sixty shots 
were discharged at the lantern, and some of the horses 
were wounded. Frederick dispatched one of his aide-de- 
camps to the army to fetch some of the first grenadier 
battalions, and until this reinforcement arrived he made 
his troops halt, and examined the path, but no further 
danger could be discovered. The troops entered Lissa in 
perfect silence. The streets were empty ; but frequently 
lights were seen, and much life was observable in all the 
houses. Some Austrian soldiers, who were in the act of 
carrying bundles of straw out of the houses, were seized, 
and admitted that they were carrying the straw to the 
bridge in order to set it on fire. This visit of the Prus- 
sians had not, however, altogether escaped attention ; a 
body of Austrian soldiers had quietly assembled, and sud- 
denly opened a sharp fire on the Prussians, which caused 
several of the grenadiers to fall by Frederick's side. The 
Prussians had in the interim got their cannons into play, 
and returned this greeting without loss of time. At the 
same moment a well- sustained fusilade opened from the 
different houses, which was answered by the grenadiers 
firing at the windows from whence the discharge came. 
All was now one scene of general confusion. Frederick 
quietly remarked to his staff : " Gentlemen, follow me ; 
I am well acquainted with this ground," and immediately 
rode to the left, over a drawbridge leading to the man- 
sion of the lord of the manor of Lissa, followed by his ad- 
jutants. He had scarcely arrived at the entrance of the 
mansion, when he was met by a number of Austrian offi- 
cers of different ranks, who had just taken their supper, 
and having been aroused by the firing, were looking after 
their horses, and rushing with lights in their hands from 
the rooms and staircases. They remained completely 
])etrified with astonishment on seeing Frederick and his 
adjutants dismount, and welcome them with the word — 
^'i>o?2 soiV, messieurs! you would not, certainly, have 



262 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

expected to find me here. Can we not also find a lodging 
here ? " They were superior in point of numbers, and 
might by a bold stroke have gained possession of the 
person of the king, but the confusion was so great that 
no one thought of this. The Austrian generals and staff- 
officers seized the lights, and conducted the king up the 
staircase into one of the best rooms. They here presented 
one another to him, and an agreeable conyersation on gen- 
eral subjects ensued. In the meantime Prussian adjutants 
and other officers continued to arrive in such numbers 
that Frederick at last asked in surprise where they all 
came from, and then heard, to his astonishment, that his 
army was on its way to Lissa. 

In the enthusiasm of victory the whole army had set 
out on its march, as soon as the order arrived for the 
battalions of tlie grenadiers to follow him to Lissa. The 
troops had silently and seriously broken up the camp, 
and each man marched forward, buried in deep reflection 
on the importance of this bloody day. The cold night- 
breeze swept along the fields, carrying with it the groans 
and the wailing of the wounded and the dying. A grena- 
dier set up the old German chant, " JSPuii danket alle Got%^'* 
(Xow thank ye all the Lord,) which was soon taken up 
by the whole army, consisting of more than 25,000 men. 
The darkness and tranquillity of the night — the horrors 
of the battle-field, where at every step the foot trod upon 
a corpse — lent a degree of awful solemnity to the song ; 
and even the wounded forgot for a time their sufferings 
whilst taking part in this general act of thanksgiving. A 
new spirit of strength sustained the weary warriors, when 
on a sudden a loud and long-continued shout burst from 
every tongue on hearing the cannonade in Lissa, and each 
vied with the other as to who should be the first to come 
to the aid of his sovereign. Such of the enemy as were 
in Lissa were instantly taken prisoners. 

The Austrians had on this day alone lost 27,000 men, 
116 guns, 51 flags, and 4,000 wagons ; whilst the loss on 
the part of the Prussians amounted to little more thai\ 



CAMPAIGN OF 1757. LEUTHEN- 263 

6,000 men. But at dawn of the following morning the 
Prussian army pushed irresistibly forward to secure the 
advantages acquired through this victory. The foe was 
pursued in all directions, and large bodies of prisoners 
and an immense quantity of booty fell into the hands of 
the Prussians. An Austrian corps of 18,000 men had 
thrown itself into Ereslau. Frederick laid siege to the 
town with 14,000 men, bombarded it, notwithstanding 
the extreme cold, and on the 21st of December the Aus- 
trians were forced to surrender. Great quantities of am- 
munition, and a well-stored military chest fell into Fred- 
erick's hands. A few days afterwards Liegnitz, which had 
been but slightly fortified by the Austrians, likewise 
surrendered ; a large quantity of stores fell here into the 
hands of the Prussians, but the garrison was allowed to 
retire. Schweidnitz was now the only place of which 
the enemy still retained possession, and it was deemed 
unadvisable to assail it, as the frozen state of the ground 
prevented the necessary breaching operations. The 
place was, however, closely invested, and towards the end 
of the year, with the exception of Schweidnitz, the whole 
of Silesia had been evacuated by the Austrians. The 
Prussians now entered their winter- quarters, and of the 
gigantic Austrian army only 37,000 men reached the 
frontiers of Bohemia. 



204 FREDERICK THE GREAT, 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

OPEXIXG OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1758. THE EXPEDITION TO ^ 

MORAVIA. 

Well might Frederick now hope, that after a year of 
such bloody toil — after the fatal blow which he had just 
inflicted on Austria, and which, as it were, aimihilated all 
its plans of vengeance, — well might he hope, we say, that 
Maria Theresa would not be wholly indisposed to listen 
to overtures of peace ; and in fact, some such disposition 
did at first appear recognizable in the conduct of the im- 
perial cabinet. The tone of the language used in the 
documents which still continued to issue from the imperial 
cabinet and court-chamber of the empire became some- 
what more subdued, and assumed a less indecorous and 
insulting character ; and further, Count Kaunitz displayed 
considerable activity and zeal in warning Frederick of a 
conspiracy which had been formed against his life. The 
latter treated the affair of the conspiracy as a mere fiction, 
but wrote, notwithstanding, a letter of thanks for the 
communication which had been made; not forgetting, 
however, to add, that there were two modes of assassina- 
tion, — the one stabbed its victim with a dagger, the other 
\vith calumnious lampoons. As to the first mode he felt 
little anxiety, but as to the second he was somewhat 
more sensitive. He, however, neglected no means, as far 
as in him lay, of courting peace. He sent the captive 
Prince Lobkowitz to Vienna to open negotiations, and 
wrote personally to the empress on the subject. " Were 
it not for the battle of the 18th of June," he said, in thi3 



CAMPAIGN OF 1758. EXPEDITION TO MORAVIA. 265 

letter, " in which fortune frowned upon me, I should prob- 
ably have had an opportunity of paying you my homage 
in person. It is likewise probable, though against my 
nature, that your beauty and high accomplishments might 
have conquered the conqueror ; it is possible that we 
might have found some means of becoming reconciled. 
You had achieved some slight advantages in Silesia, but 
this was not of long continuance ; and the last battle was 
attended with so much bloodshed, that I cannot think of 
it without feelings of horror. I have taken advantage of 
my success, and shall be in a condition to advance again 
on Bohemia and Moravia. Consider well, my dear cousm, 
this state of things, and weigh maturely the characters of 
those in whom you are about to repose your confidence. 
It can hardly escape your own observation, that you are 
plunging your kingdom into misery, that you are the 
cause of the shedding of so much blood, and that you can- 
not conquer him, who, if you would but consent to accept 
of him as a friend, as he is your near relative, could, if 
joined with you, make the whole world tremble. I write 
this in the fullest conviction of my heart, and trust that 
it may produce the effect which I desire. But should 
you be resolved on pushing matters to their worst, I am 
equally resolved on exerting all my powers and energies 
to meet the struggle. I cannot, however, refrain from 
assuring you, that I should with pain see the downfall of 
a princess so well worthy the admiration of the whole 
world. If your allies remain as firmly devoted to your 
interest as is their duty, my overthrow is, I admit, certain ; 
but in this there will be no disgrace ; and history will re- 
cord it to my praise, that I have striven to shield a fellow 
prince-elector (Hanover) from oppression, that I have not 
aided in aggrandizing the power of the house of Bourbon, 
and that I have resisted the combined exertions of two 
empresses and three kings." It were indeed difficult to 
use more convincing language. 

Of course the most wily measures had been taken in 
Vienna to prevent Maria Theresa from being made 



266 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

properly aware of the horrors and miseries which the war 
had entailed upon her subjects, and of the disgrace which 
had been, on the 5th of December, inflicted on the Aus- 
trian arms. This was carried, in fact, to such a pitch, 
that the events of the battle of Leuthen were treated in 
their details with the utmost poetic licence, in order to 
excuse the catastrophe ; and as French policy at this crit- 
ical moment contributed its quota for the perplexing and 
baffling of all peaceful counsels, the old thirst for venge- 
ance and inveterate international hatred which 3Iaria 
Theresa had so long cherished in her bosom burst forth 
anew. The negotiations \vith the Prince Lobkowitz were 
declined with a degree of hauteur, which Avould almost 
have led one to think that the King of Prussia, and not 
the powerful Austrian army, had been beaten at Leuthen. 

The alliance between Austria, France, and Russia be- 
came, on the other hand, more close. France promised 
new levies and further subsidies to Russia. The Russian 
Empress sought to make amends for the evacuation of 
Prussia by her army, which had taken place during her 
illness and against her Avill, by ordering a second incursion 
on Prussia to be immediately undertaken. Frederick, 
who had but just taken up his winter- quarters, could not 
prevent the execution of this measure. The Russian 
army had already set out from Memel, under the command 
of Field-marshal Fermor, on the 16th of January, and 
meeting no opposition, entered Konigsberg with great 
solemnity six days afterwards. The town was obliged to 
do homage to the Russian Empress on Frederick's birth- 
day. All public monies were seized ; the administration 
was placed under the guidance of Russian officials, and 
the whole of East Prussia regarded as a Russian province. 
Fermor was raised to the rank of governor-general, and 
was invested with the dignity of an earl. 

Frederick's alliance with England was necessarily 
strengthened by this state of things. William Pitt, who 
was then at the head of the government, clearly recog- 
nized Frederick's greatness ; and taking advanteige of the 



CAMPAIGN OF 1758. EXPEDITION TO MORAVIA. 267 

IDopularity of the Prussian cause ^vith both people and 
parliament, succeeded in concluding, on the 11th of April, 
1758, a new treaty of alliance and subsidy, by which Eng- 
land engaged to reinforce the Hanoverian army with Eng- 
lish troops, and to pay an annual subsidy of six hundred 
and seventy thousand pounds. Frederick engaging on 
his part to augment the same army by the addition of 
some Prussian regiments. The acceptance of subsidies 
from foreign' nations did not quite accord with his chival- 
rous feelings, and he would have preferred that an Eng- 
lish fleet had been dispatched to operate in the Baltic. 
This latter was, however, declined by England, and as the 
dukedom of Prussia and the AVestphalian provinces were 
in the hands of the enemy, Frederick found himself im- 
peratively constrained to accept of the pecuniary assist- 
ance. Nay, he actually found it unavoidably necessary, 
in order to meet his most pressing emergencies, to still 
further increase this sum, by having it re-coined and re- 
issued, so as to form ten millions of thalers of depreciated 
value. For, notwithstanding that Saxony paid very heavy 
contributions, and Mecklenburg, whose sovereign duke 
betrayed the most determined hostility to Frederick, and 
was of all German sovereigns the most urgent in requir- 
ing that he should be declared under the ban, was obliged 
to submit to still harsher fiscal measures ; yet all this was 
insufficient to complete those equipments which the over- 
powering numbers of his foes rendered indispensable. 

The greater part of the time which Frederick passed in 
Breslau was devoted to the reorganization of the army 
and its restoration to its former footing. The severe en- 
gagements of the previous year, the oppressive marches, 
the pestilent diseases engendered in the hospitals, had 
reduced his forces to but two-thirds of their original 
number. It was now a principal aim to fill up the ranks 
with all possible expedition, and to make the host of raw 
recru.its as well acquainted with the minutiae of the 
Prussian drill as was practicable in so limited a period ; 
but the ordering of the administration in Silesia was not 



268 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

forgotten. A severe scrutiny and investigation into the 
conduct of all such as had proved traitors on the entrance 
of the Austrians was threatened, and the property of the 
fugitives confiscated. The revenues of the Prince- Bishop 
Count Schaffgotsch, who had passed over the frontier, 
and whose more than equivocal conduct had rendered 
even the cabinet of Vienna deaf to his overtures, Avere 
seized. 

Whilst the Prussian soldiers were as yet refreshing 
themselves after the toils of the last year's campaign, and 
the recruits were being disciplined, Ferdinand, Duke of 
Brunswick, at the head of the Hanoverian and allied 
troops, had already opened the campaign with the 
French. As early as the month of February he had 
broken up his winter- cantonments, freed Hanover, and 
driven the whole French army before him. The fugi- 
tives fled without pause or intermission across the snow- 
covered plains of Westphalia back to the Rhine, and did 
not even halt until they had arrived in Wesel ; 10,000 of 
the enemy fell into Ferdinand's hands. The conqueror 
granted his troops here a short interval of repose, and 
awaited the reinforcements from England. Through the 
brilliant success of this action Frederick was relieved 
from all dangers impending from France ; and subsequent 
events kept the French at a distance from his territories. 
On the 1st of June Frederick crossed the Rhine, and 
beat the French army, which had been strongly rein- 
forced, on the 23d near Crefeld. After several other 
successes he was finally compelled to retire, on the 
entrance of Soubise and his army, into Hessen ; but the 
manner in which he affected the passage of the Rhine 
was so brilliant, that it tended but to heighten his glory. 
Soubise's army, although twice victorious over isolated 
corps of the allies, did not succeed in obtaining any solid 
advantage for France. Ferdinand's marches and posi- 
tions were so judicious, as to prevent the two French 
armies from forming a junction, and compelled them, 
towards the close of the year, to take up their winter- 



CAMPAIGN OF 1758. EXPEDITION TO MORAVIA. 269 

quarters on the Rhine. Soubise took up his position on 
the German side, whilst the French army encamped 
between the Rhine and the Meuse. 

That this year's campaign should be conducted on the 
same system that had proved so repeatedly successful 
hitherto, was one of Frederick's earliest resolves. In- 
stead of awaiting an attack, or allowing time for a 
junction of the hostile armies, he cherished the idea of 
being able to throw himself unexpectedly on some one 
of his many foes, and through its discomfiture to be in a 
position to rout the second. That it was impossible for 
him to prevent the Russians from occupying Prussia 
Proper was perfectly clear, but separated as this was by 
means of Poland from his other provinces, he considered 
himself warranted in assuming that the Russian army, 
which was as yet wholly unprovided with the necessary 
stores or magazines, would be so impeded in its move- 
ments as not to be prepared to assume the offensive till 
the following summer. He accordingly determined on 
directing his strength in the first instance against 
Austria. Prospects of success seemed here more prob- 
able, inasmuch as the Austrian army, enfeebled by the 
losses and disasters of the former year and the epidemic 
diseases which had broken out amongst the men, would 
certainly require much time and pains ere it could be 
possibly put in an effective state. 

It now became a paramount consideration to compel 
the Austrians to evacuate Schweidnitz — the only point in 
the whole of Silesia which was still in their power. As 
soon as the season permitted, which was about the 
beginning of April, a regular siege was laid to the town, 
trenches were opened, and on the 18th of the same month 
the garrison, consisting of a corps of about 5,000 men, 
surrendered, in consequence of the capture by storm of 
one of the forts. 

The Austrian army stationed in Bohemia was now in 
momentary expectation of Frederick's attempting an 
incursion on that country. Field-marshal Daun had beeA 



270 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

invested with the sole command of the Austrians, a post 
which Maria Theresa wished to see filled by the Prince of 
Lorraine; but the latter, from feelings of disappoint- 
ment at the numerous reverses which the Austrian arms 
had under him sustained, became disgusted with the 
service, and retired from this post. Daun's levies were 
at this moment very far from being complete ; and owing 
to this circumstance, as well as the superabundant fore- 
sight which characterized all his acts, he deemed it neces- 
sary to throw up enormous entrenchments along the 
Bohemian frontiers. Whole woods were hewn down for 
the purpose of forming glacis and abattis Frederick did 
all in his power to confirm his adversary in the unneces- 
sary apprehensions in which the latter indulged, and 
in the meantime made all necessary preparations, in per- 
fect secrecy, for the execution of a far different project 
from that which had caused his opponent such a gratuitous 
expenditure of time and labor. Hardly had the month of 
May opened, when, before any one had the least idea of 
it, his army was drawn up in Moravia, and dispositions 
were being made for the immediate siege of Ollmutz. 

In exact proportion to the rapidity with which the 
main body of the Prussian army had entered Moravia, 
was the tediousness attending the motions of the heavy 
train of artillery and battering-ordnance intended for the 
siege. Daun, in consequence of this delay, gained sufficient 
time to follow the king into Moravia and assume a 
threatening attitude. He remained satisfied, however, 
Tv'ith harassing the Prussian army with his light troops, 
looking forward to more favorable circumstances for more 
decisive success. The preparations for the siege had 
been in the interim pushed forward Avith much vigor, but 
errors of a very serious nature had been committed by 
the officers entrusted with its conduct. The first line of 
batteries had been raised at such a distance from the 
enemy's works that but few of the guns took effect, and 
on new batteries being raised, more within range, it was 
found necessary to wait for fresh arrivals of ordnance, so 



CAMPAIGN OF 1758. EXPEDITION TO MORAVIA. 271 

that but ven^ little progress was made, and thus the 
besieged gained sutncient time to repair such breaches as 
were from time to time made ; and, further, the Prussian 
army being too weak for an effective investment of the 
town, a connection between the latter and Daun's army- 
was maintained, and means were even found to effect a 
considerable reinforcement of the garrison. 

All hopes of success now rested on the timely arrival 
of a large convoy from Silesia, which was to bring all the 
necessary munitions for the Prussian army. Zieten had 
been dispatched with his corps to strengthen the escort 
of the same. But in this case Daun had adopted the most 
admirable measures for the destruction of his adversary. 
A corps far superior in numbers to that under Daun as- 
sailed the convoy in the narrow mountain -gorges through 
which it had to pass. Pieces of heavy ordnance were 
brought to bear on the barricades which the Prussians, 
by overturning some of the baggage- wagons, had hastily 
erected. The powder-tumbrils were blown up, the horses 
shot, and the escort became mobbed and thrown into 
frightful confusion. A considerable number of recruits 
from Pomerania and Mark formed part of the escort; 
but few of them were taken prisoners, the greater pro- 
portion maintained the struggle to the last, and their 
lifeless bodies, which strewed the ground, bore ample 
witness to the dreadful nature of the struggle, and fully 
justified their proverbially high character for fidelity and 
unswerving fortitude. Zieten was compelled to retire 
towards the Silesian frontier, and was, during this re- 
gressive movement, exposed to repeated skirmishes with 
the enemy's light horse. 

Nothing now remained for Frederick but to raise the 
siege, abandon the entire enterprise, and withdraw his 
army from Moravia. But the most frightful difficulties 
were to be encountered in the execution of this movement. 
Summoning all the higher officers to his presence at head- 
quarters, he informed them of his determination, and 
addressed them as follows : " Gentlemen, the enemy hag 



272 



FREDERICK THE GREAT. 



found means to destroy the convoy which was on its way 
from Silesia. In consequence of this disastrous circum- 
stance I am compelled to raise the siege of Ollmutz. 
Officers are not, however, to suppose that therefore all is 
lost. No ; you may be assured that all shall be repaired, and 
the enemy have occasion to remember this circumstance. 
Officers are to breathe courage into the hearts of their 
men, and not permit murmurings of any kind. I entertain 
no apprehension whatever that any of my officers will 
display anything like pusillanimity ; but should I, con- 
trary to all expectation, find this to be the case in any 
individual instance, I shall visit it with the utmost 
severity. I shall now march, and wherever we meet the 
enemy I will attack him, be he posted Avhere he may, in 
front of one or several batteries. Yet "—here the kmg 
paused, and rubbing his brow with the handle of his 
Spanish cane, continued—" I shall do nothing without 
consideration and forethought; but I cherish the con- 
viction that every officer, and, indeed, every private, will, 
when opportunity offers, do his duty as he has hitherto 
done it." 

And, certainly, matters had now assumed a character 
which made the most mature and deliberate calculation, 
coupled with the most heroic valor, absolutely essential 
for escape from dangers of such magnitude. But on a 
dispassionate survey of the acts of this mighty monarch, 
we find that he then invariably commands our highest 
admiration when dangers begin to thicken, and his fall 
seems, according to the calculations of ordinary prudence, 
inevitable. In such cases the powers of his mind seemed 
to expand to a degree baffiing all human calculations, and 
his genius was almost always found equal to the emergency. 
He was now with his little army, whose march was in 
the last degree impeded by the number of the guns and 
a convoy of 4,000 wagons, to retire from the centre of a 
land, in which every point of egress was held by hosts of 
enemies, and whose inhabitants were actuated by feeUngs 
of no ordinary animosity towards him. The whole world, 



CAMPAIGN OF 1758. EXPEDITION TO MORAVIA, 273 

watched with anxiety the solution of this grand difficulty. 
But Frederick's arrangements bore the stamp of a master- 
mind. Daun naturally supposed that his enemy would 
take the shortest path in his return to Silesia, and Fred- 
erick strove to confirm him a second time in his false as- 
sumption. To this end he dispatched a trooper to the 
commandant of Neisse, with written orders to have bread 
and provender in readiness against the arrival of the army. 
The trooper played his part so skilfully that he fell into 
the hands of the enemy, who, not suspecting any 
stratagem, speedily made themselves masters of his per- 
son and his apparently important dispatch. Daun now 
turned all his attention to the occupation of every road 
and pass leading to Silesia, and Frederick thereby gained 
several days' time for effecting his retreat upon Bohemia, 
a direction almost diametrically opposed to that which 
Daun felt satisfied he would take. On perceiving him- 
self outmanoeuvred, Daun hastened with all expedition 
to repair his error, and pursue the enemy. The Austrian 
light troops now attempted to oppose the progress of the 
Prussian columns through the defiles of the Moravian 
hills. But all such assaults, despite the varied difficulties 
of the ground, Avere invariably repulsed. Frederick gained 
Bohemia, and pitched his camp near Konigingratz on the 
12th of July, without having suffered any considerable 
loss, and without Darui being in a condition to come to 
a general engagement. From thence Frederick dispatched 
his cumbrous battering-train to Glatz. He would now, 
as soon as his army had recovered in some measure from 
its fatigue, and been slightly reinforced, have gladly con- 
cluded the whole expedition with a decisive battle, but 
Daun was too prudent to abandon the strongly-entrenched 
position which he had taken up in face of the Prussian 
lines. Frederick therefore fell back on Silesia, about the 
beginning of August, to the astonishment and admiration 
of the world, after having effected a retreat only com para- 
able to the memorable one of the 10,000 'Greeks under 
Xenophon. The imperial court caused a medal to be 



271 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

struck in honor of its field-marshal, who had remained a 
modest spectator of the successful retreat of the Prus- 
sians, on which he is honored with the title of the German 
Fahius Maximus, with the inscription underneath, " Thou 
hast conquered by thy procrastination ; continue to con- 
quer ! " 

Perhaps it was during this retreat that the incident oc- 
curred, in which Frederick, by his extraordinary presence 
of mind, escaped most imminent personal peril. He had 
ridden forward, attended by a small escort, for the purpose 
of reconnoitring the line of march, when some Pandoors, 
who lay concealed in a thicket, discharged several shots 
at the small party. Frederick had taken no notice of 
this interruption, till one of his escort suddenly called out 
to him that a Pandoor was concealed behind a tree close 
by, and was aiming at him. Frederick looked round, 
caught a glimpse of the Pandoor as he stood with his 
piece levelled, and raising his cane, which he always 
carried, even when on horseback, called out in a threaten- 
ing tone, " You, sir ! " The Pandoor lowered his musket 
in a fright, and uncovering his head, remained in an atti- 
tude of homage until the king passed by. 



CAMPAIGN OF 1758. ZORNDORF. 275 



CHAPTER XXX. 

CONTINUATION OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1758. ZORNDORF. 

Essentially characteristic of the Seven Years' War, 
and the peculiar relations which gave Frederick so many 
opportunities for a display of his talents as a tactician, 
was the circumstance, that he was ever hurried from en- 
terprise to enterprise ; that no other means was left him 
of combating the foes, which from every side assailed 
him, than the ceaseless execution of the most rapid and 
distant marches, and the compensation in activity for the 
small number of his troops. The year that had just 
closed had seen him in Bohemia, Lusatia, Thuringia, 
Saxony, and Silesia ; and now, though but just returned 
from Moravia and Bohemia, he was obliged to direct his 
steps without loss of time in an opposite direction. The 
Russians, under the command of Field-marshal Fermor, 
having put their ponderous army in motion, were advanc- 
ing through the northern provinces of the then Poland, 
(West Prussia and Posen,) and had, on the 2d of August, 
crossed the frontier of New Mark, threatening the heart 
of Frederick's kingdom, with all the horrors which un- 
civilized warfare brings in its train ; for moderate as their 
conduct was on the occupation of Prussia Proper, Avhich 
had been from thenceforward considered as a Russian 
province, the savage barbarities perpetrated by them on 
such places as they regarded as hostile territories knew 
no bounds. Fire, bloodshed, and havoc marked their 
path; the blooming meads through which they passed 
became instantly transformed into desolate wastes ; the 
simoom, or sirocco, was not more desolating in its effects, 



276 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

As the Russians approached the borders of Mark, a 
Prussian corps, which had previouslj' fought in Prussia, 
and now, under the command of Count Dohna, held the 
Swedes locked in at Stralsund, advanced to meet them. 
Too weak to attempt any decisive step in the face of an 
enemy so superior, Dohna took up a position on the Oder, 
and contented himself with covering the left bank of the 
stream, and strengthening the garrison in the fortress of 
Ciistrin, before Fermor advanced with his main strength 
upon it. The nature of the ground, which was marshy, 
prevented a regular siege ; but Fermor confidently hoped 
that the garrison would be induced to surrender on a 
bombardment, and that he should thus obtain a strong 
depot for arms on the Oder. An immense number of 
bombshells and grape were accordingly thro^vn into the 
town on the 15th of August, wiiich soon set the houses 
on fire. The inhabitants and a number of the peasantry 
who had sought refuge behind the walls of Ciistrin from 
the barbarian hordes, saw all their goods become a prey 
to the flames, and could save nothing beyond their lives, 
and even these but by flying across the Oder. Fermor 
continued to bombard the town while a shot remained in 
his tumbrils ; but his intentions were nevertheless frus- 
trated. The fortifications remained uninjured, and on the 
commandant being summoned on the sixth day, with the 
threat that in the event of his not surrendering the town 
should be stormed, the latter declared his determination 
to hold out to the last man. 

A special corps of the Russian army had been in the 
meantime sent against Pomerania, and the Swedish army 
was summoned to join the Russians. The danger had 
now reached its height ; but the Swedes were too tedious 
in their movements ; they delayed setting out for some 
time, acting on the advice of the French ambassador, who 
wished them to join the French arm}" on the Elbe ; but 
the deliverer was already at hand. On the 21st of August 
Frederick arrived in the camp of Count Dohna before 
Ciistrin, bringing with him 14,000 picked men of the 



CAMPAIGN OF 175S. ZORNDORF. 277 

Silesian army, with whom he had hurried forward, on re- 
ceivmg intelligence of the dangers that impended, in fly- 
ing marches from the Bohemian frontiers. Immediately 
on his arrival he mustered Count Dohna's corps. The 
stately parade in Avhich the former passed in review sur- 
prised him, and turning to Dohna, he remarked in a loud 
tone, alluding perhaps to their defeat of the former year, 
"Your men have been polishing themselves tremen- 
dously ; I have some with me who look like adders, but 

they bite ! " 

Deep was the sorrow and fiery the thirst for vengeance 
which must have seized the heart of the king, as he gazed 
on the smouldering ruins of the town, and the desolation 
which barbarian hordes spread through his land, and 
listened to the miserable tales of the inhabitants as they 
demanded him to have their cruel distresses relieved. 
He kindly consoled the unhappy sufferers. " Children," 
said he, as he listened attentively to the minute details of 
their misfortunes, "children, I could not come sooner, 
otherwise this misfortune had never occurred. Have but 
patience, and I will build up everything anew ! " And 
he kept his word. He immediately ordered a sum of 
200,000 thalers to be distributed amongst them to meet 
their most pressing necessities, and calmly resolved on 
bringing the enemy to a speedy and severe account. 
Whilst the guns were playing on the Russian entrench- 
ments in the neighborhood of Ciistrin, and every one ex- 
pected that he would here make a serious attack, he had 
given orders to his army to hold itself in readiness, so as 
to be able, on the approach of night, to cross the Oder 
unobserved, a short distance below Ciistrin. As the army 
was preparing to set out, he rode once more along the 
lines, and greeting his valiant veterans, called out to them 
in a friendly tone, " Children, will you join me ? " A 
universal shout of " We ^vill ! " was the response. One 
of the men said to him, " If we had but those Russian 
pack-horses, we should get on faster ! " The king replied 
jokingly, " We shall soon get them ! " 



278 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

On the 23d of August the passage across the stream 
was effected, and the enemy outflanked by deploymg in 
a wide circuit. The whole army was bursting with feel- 
ings of the most indignant rage at the horrors which they 
had seen perpetrated. As far as the eye could reach 
nothing was to be seen but burning or smouldering vil- 
lages. The wretched inhabitants lay crouching within 
the recesses of the woods, robbed by the enemy of their 
last means of subsistence. The humanity of the soldier 
gladly shared his bread with them, and in return 
received from the peasant water to quench his burn- 
mg thirst ; while in many places large casks and vessels 
of water were, out of a kind feeling of precaution, placed 
on the roadside, devoted to the same purpose. 

On the morning of the 25th of August Frederick' had 
so completely turned the position of the Russian army, as 
to be able to assail it in the most vulnerable point. An 
extensive plain gave him ample room for an unimpeded 
assault, whilst the marshy moors in the enemy's rear and 
flank, and a small arm of the Oder, kept them hemmed 
m. The bridges over the latter had been broken down 
by Frederick's order, to cut off all retreat. He hoped to 
annihilate the whole hostile army, and with one blow seal 
its fate in blood. There was no time for hesitation, as he 
must expect that the Austrians would soon take advan- 
tage of his absence, and attempt some dangerous enter- 
prise ; for this reason he had not attacked the enemy's 
baggage, which was stored - up within a barricade of 
wagons at some distance from the army, and of which 
he might readily have made himself master, and thus 
compelled the foe, without further bloodshed, to leave a 
land in which it could no longer support itself ; but the 
execution of this design would have required several 
weeks for its accomplishment. 

The Prussian army consisted of 32,760 men, that of the 
Russians about 52,000. The latter had, on Frederick's 
approach, formed an immense quadrangular flgure, with 
the cavalry and followers in the centre. This disposition 



CAMPAIGN OF 1758. ZORNDORF. 279 

had been found very efficient during the wars with the 
Turks, in checking the disorderly assaults of irregular 
troops, but was not very valuable when opposed to a well- 
disciplined European army. Frederick resolved on ad- 
vancing with his left wing against the encumbered mass 
of the enemy's lines, hoping by an impetuous shock to 
break in at its angle, and from thence to spread confusion 
and devastation throughout its thickly crowded members. 
Between the two armies lay the village of Zorndorf ; 
hosts of Cossacks swarmed all round and had set the 
village on fire, the smoke of Avhich was impelled into the 
face of the Russians, and prevented them from perceiving 
the enemy's dispositions. 

At nine o'clock the attack commenced ; the advanced- 
guard and left wing of the Prussian army moved on the 
Russian right flank, which was separated by a marsh from 
the main army. A frightful cannonade then opened, 
carrying unheard-of devastation through the deep Russian 
lines. One ball alone is said to have swept down not less 
than forty-two men. The camp-followers in the centre 
now fell into confusion. The horses with their wagons 
burst out on all sides, breaking the lines ; and it was with 
much difficulty that they were afterwards drawn up in 
the rear of the army. The Prussian infantry, taking ad- 
vantage of this confusion, quickly acfvanced, and keeping 
up a well-sustained fusillade, overthrew the Russian fore- 
most ranks ; but this onslaught was attended with many 
inconveniences. The men were at one time separated, at 
another led on in bodies too feeble to prove effective. 
The enemy's generals took advantage of this ; the Russian 
infantry and cavalry burst with the wild shout of " Arra, 
arra ! " (victory !) upon the Prussians, whose infantry 
retired in confusion. The Prussian cavalry under Seid- 
litz had, up to that moment, been calmly advancing, but 
as the Russians were commencing a disorderly pursuit of 
their enemies, Seidlitz, taking advantage of the propitious 
moment, gave the signal to charge, and in an instant his 
warriors rushed in regular array on the hostile mass. A 



280 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

frightful struggle now ensued, being almost without par^ 
allel in the history of European warfare. For though the 
first ranks of the Russians were hewn clown, line after 
line held its ground without flinching. As successive 
battalions were cut off, new masses congregated together, 
and with their bodies opposed such a bulwark against the 
advance of the enemy, as could only be carried by a com- 
plete massacre. Although the whole of their ammunition 
was already spent, still they did not yield one pace until 
they sank sabred by their adversaries. This massacre 
lasted for hours ; whole detachments of Russians fell 
upon their oa\ti baggage, plundered the provision-wag- 
ons, and staved the casks of spirits, thirsting for their 
intoxicating contents. The officers emptied the casks ; 
when not a few threw themselves on the earth, and put- 
ting their mouths to the ground, drank up the liquor from 
out the dust ; whilst others, in a wild spirit of disappoint- 
ment, turned their arms against their commanders, and 
murdered those who spilt the inebriating liquor. At 
length, about noon, the battle ceased on both sides. 
Such of the Russians as were not slain were driven into 
the marshes; and Seidlitz withdrew his valiant liosts 
from before the hostile cannonade, which was now opened 
upon him from the opposite side. 

The other sections of both armies had not as yet taken 
any part in the combat ; but Frederick, who was present 
in the right wing, now made his disposition for a general 
assault, and advanced. In his front stood a Prussian 
battery, which, as a considerable space intervened be- 
tween it and the lines, was covered by a special bat- 
talion. Upon this a vast body of the enemy's cavalry 
now rushed, took both the battery and the battalion 
captive, and then advanced against the main body of the 
army, but was here received with so hot a fire as to be 
speedily obliged to retire. On this the captive battalion 
broke away, and shouting, " Victory ! Long live the 
king ! " rode back to the Prussians. Frederick ad- 
vancing to meet them, cried out, " Children, do not shout 



CAMPAIGN OF 1758. ZORNDORF. 281 

victory awhile ; I will tell you when it is time for that I " 
At the same instant new hosts of Russian cavalry rushed 
on the Prussian left wing, which was composed of the 
regiments under Count Dohna, some of whom had al- 
ready fled on the first assault on the left w^ing. A panic 
seized them a second time, and they once more fled most 
shamefully from the field of battle. It was here again 
reserved for Seidlitz, the hero of the day, to ward off the 
imminent danger which now threatened. Dashing with 
his valiant troops down upon the enemy, he drove the 
Tiussian cavalry back in wild disorder, and in the face of 
a well-sustained fire of musketry and grape, charged 
such of the Russian lines as still stood. Frederick, too, 
soon came on with the veteran battalions of his infantry ; 
and now a second butchery ensued, similar to that which 
had already crushed the left wing of the Russians. The 
fight was now carried on man to man, it being impos- 
sible for either division to retain Its ranks. Russians 
and Prussians, cavalry and infantry, all were compressed 
into one dense mass. Frederick was himself engaged in 
the middle of the aftray, and his pages taken captive, 
wounded, and killed by his side. The frightful dust of 
this burning day, together with the smoke perpetually 
issuing from the cannons' mouths, made it impossible to 
recognize the face of friend or foe. His troops could rec- 
ognize their king solely by his voice. Neither party 
surpassed the other in point of valor, but the discipline 
of the Prussians eventually prevailed. Their leader suc- 
ceeded in again drawing them from out the wild mingled 
mass, and as evening sank, such of the Russians as had 
not been slaughtered were driven from the field of 
battle. 

Whilst Frederick was mustering his army for the 
night, the Russians, in single bodies, were seeking safety 
in flight. But as the bridges were everywhere broken 
down, the entire dispersion of the army, which their 
leaders sought in every way to rally, was prevented. A 
body of some thousand Russians had again taken up a 



2S2 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

place on the field of battle, and Frederick marched his 
troops once more against them. But this last attack, 
which was every way unimportant, proved unsuccessful, 
partly from want of anmiunition, and jjartly owing to 
the fact of the assailants belonging to those battalions of 
the left wing which had previously disgraced themselves, 
now for the third time flying before the enemy's fire. 
This petty, and, as regarded the fate of the day, perfectly 
immaterial success, served the Russian leaders as a basis 
for the braggart announcements of victory which they 
transmitted to Petersburg and the allied courts, where 
they met with full credence, and excited bright but de- 
ceptive hopes. 

During the night the Russians had rallied, and on the 
following morning again appeared in battle array. It 
seemed as if a second engagement were about to ensue, 
in fact, a cannonade was opened, which lasted four hours. 
But the exhaustion on both sides was so greart, and the 
want of ammunition so complete, that no serious engage- 
ment took place. Fermor now applied for a truce of a 
few days, ostensibly to bury the dead ; which Frederick 
refused, replying that this was the duty of the conqueror. 
Fermor took advantage of the following night to creep 
round the left wing of the Prussian army, and regain his 
baggage, where he entrenched himself for the present. 

The number of prisoners taken on the day of the battle 
of Zorndorf on either side was very insignificant, as quar- 
ter was neither given nor taken. We are even told that 
this was by the express directions of Frederick. It was 
not until the following day that a very considerable num- 
ber of the discomfited Russians fell into the hands of 
their adversaries. The losses on the whole were very 
considerable. Frederick had lost upwards of 11,000 men, 
and the Russians double that number, together with 103 
guns, and 27 ensigns and standards. "Heaven has this 
day granted another splendid victory to your majesty," 
said the English ambassador, who had accompanied Fred- 
erick, to the field, addressing the latter after the battle. 



CAMPAIGN OF 1758. ZORNDORF. 283 

" Were it not for this man," replied Frederick, pointing 
to Seidlitz, " matters would now have worn a very gloomy 
aspect ! " But Seidlitz modestly declined the compliment 
paid him, attributing the whole merit to the valor of the 
cavalry. Frederick felt bound to inform Marshal Daun 
of the real result of the battle of Zorndorf . A letter of 
the latter, addressed to Fermor, had fallen into his hands, 
and in it the Russian general was ad^dsed to avoid an en- 
gagement with so subtle an enemy, and one with whom 
he was not acquainted ; he should rather wait until Daun's 
expedition against Saxony was concluded. Frederick 
now wrote to Daun, in allusion to the subject of this letter, 
" You were quite right in advising General Fermor to be 
on his guard against a subtle and crafty foe, whom you 
know better than he, for he has hazarded a battle and has 
been beaten." 

Amongst the prisoners there happened to be five 
Russian generals : on their being presented to the king 
on the field of battle, he gave them to understand the sin- 
cere pain it caused him not to have a Siberia whither 
he could send them as a punishment for their barbarous 
mode of carrying on war, and gave orders that they should 
be treated with the same severity as Prussian officers ex- 
perienced in Russia. They were thereupon lodged in the 
arched cellars under the fortifications of CUstrin. On 
being led thither they protested strongly against so un- 
seemly an abode, but the commandant of the toAvn re- 
ferred them to the declaration made by the king — " Gentle- 
men, you have not done me, but this poor town, the 
honor of battering it down ; you have not left a single 
house standing. You must, consequently, content your- 
selves with the present lodgings for want of better." 
Frederick granted, however, some few days afterwards, 
permission to the Russian generals to leave the cellars, 
and hire, lodgings in the suburbs of Ciistrin, which were 
not burnt down. Xay, on receiving intelligence that the 
Prussians were treated with more humanity in Petersburg, 
he even permitted them to go to Berlin, and there take 



28 i FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

part in all the court festivities. At that time prisoners 
of almost every European nation paid their homage to 
the queen on court-days in Berlin. 

The Prussian and Russian armies having remained a 
few days in inactivity, Fermor retu-ed to Landsberg, and 
Frederick moved after him in the same direction, but was 
obliged on the following day to desist from his original 
intention, and set out with a division of his army for Sax- 
ony, where his presence had become very necessary, 
a corps consisting of 16,000 men remaining behind to 
Avatch the movements of the Russians. Fermor now ad- 
vanced into Pomerania, and joined to his other forces 
that division of his troops which was to have acted in 
concert with the Swedes. He then sent another corps 
to the coast of the Baltic to beseige Kolberg. The garri- 
son of this fortress was very weak, but the militia and 
even the entire of the citizens took part in the defence. 
Repeated bombardments proved ineffectual, and even a 
storm was successfully repelled, although the Russians 
had already penetrated into the covered way. At length 
towards the close of October, the siege was raised, and the 
whole of the Russian army entered their winter-quarters 
on the other side of the Vistula. A special Prussian corps 
was dispatched, after the battle of Zorndorf, to check the 
motions of the Swedes. 



Cl^MPAlUN OF 17o8. HOCHKIRCH. 285 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

CONCLUSION OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1758 — HOCHKIRCH. 

As soon as Frederick had left the Bohemian frontiers, 
and advanced against the Russians, his enemies conceived 
it proper that so favorable an opportunity should not be 
neglected for incursive operations on his territories. The 
Prussian troops stationed in Saxony and Silesia not being 
very considerable in point of numbers, it would be easy 
to oppose such masses to them as must quite overwhelm 
them, and the absence of Frederick, who was in himself a 
host, was too advantageous a circumstance to be thrown 
away. The army of the empire, which had taken up its 
winter-quarters in Franconia, and had augmented its 
strength very considerably, now advanced on Bohemia, 
and proceeded in the direction of the Saxon frontier. 
Daun moved with the main body of the Austrian army 
towards Lusatia, and there erected his magazines. He 
could here, according to circumstances, either act in con- 
cert with the army of the empire in any operations 
against Saxony, or he could invade Silesia, or co-operate 
with the advancing Russians. With a view to this latter 
object he detached a corps of light troops, under General 
Loudon, which was to spread itself over Lower Lusatia, 
as far as the banks of the Oder, Loudon met with no 
considerable difficulties in this expedition, and was soon 
in a condition to take up a strong position in Peitz, a 
small old fortress, situated on an arm of the Spree, and 
thus to cover his future military operations. But this 
entry of the town did not take place without shedding 
new lustre on the Prussian name. Peitz was held by 



2S6 FREDERICK THE GREAT, 

but fifty old Prussian pensioners. On the Austrians at- 
tempting to enter without any ceremony, they were 
repulsed, with the loss of several men. The Austrian 
leader now made preparations for a more regular assault, 
and summoned the commandant in due form to surrender. 
The latter, acting in accordance with the customs of 
honorable warfare, before coming to any decision made it 
a primary condition that he should be allowed to send 
two trusty officers from the fortress, with permission from 
the enemy to reconnoitre and examine whether the hostile 
corps were justified by its strength in demanding the 
evacuation of the place. The enemy granted the com- 
mandant's condition. The officers dispatched returned, 
and confessed their full belief in the superioritj^ of the 
enemy's strength. The commandant accordingly capitu- 
lated, having made terms that he and his fifty veterans 
should be permitted to proceed to Berlin, and leaving to 
the conquerors nothing beyond a few accoutrements of 
little value. 

Prince Henry, the king's brother, was commander-in- 
chief of the Saxon army. By means of small movable 
columns, he had succeeded in delaying the advance of the 
army of the empire. But so superior was the latter to 
him in point of numbers, that he could not venture to un- 
dertake any decisive measure against it, as it now entered 
Saxony, and was obliged to content himself ^vith taking 
up a strong position in an intrenched camp near Dresden, 
whilst the hostile army selected Pirna for its position. 
Meanwhile, the Silesian army, commanded by the Mar- 
grave Charles, had likewise got under arms, and taken up 
a position well calculated to protect Silesia from any at- 
tempts Daun might choose to make from Lusatia. General 
Zieten was also dispatched in the same direction, in order 
to oppose the further march of the corps under Loudon. 
Under these circumstances, and as the Russians did not 
display any great willingness for co-operation in a con- 
joint attack, Daun suddenly embraced the resolution of 
directing his arms against Saxony. He soon advanced iu 



CAMPAIGN OF 1758. HOCHKIRCH. 287 

front of Dresden, determined on attacking Prince Henry 
in the rear, whilst the army of the empire was to make a 
simultaneous attack in front, so that the small Prussian 
army must be completely overwhelmed by its two foes, 
so vastly superior in numbers. Prince Henry was, how- 
ever, so prudent as to take up such a position as rendered 
it impossible to assail him, and tidings soon arrived that 
Frederick, after the victory of Zorndorf, w^as approaching 
in all haste to the Saxon territories. On the 10th of 
September, after uniting himself with the army of the 
Margrave Charles and Zieten's corps, and forcing Loudon 
to a retrograde movement towards the main strength of 
the Austrian army, Frederick arrived in the neighbor- 
hood of Dresden. Here, within the space of ten miles, 
four hostile armies stood opposed to one another, and 
each day appeared to promise a bloody termination to 
these peculiar relations. Frederick desired nothing more 
heartily than a decisive engagement ; but Daun did not 
share in this feeling, and being a master in the art of 
conducting defensive warfare, he soon took up such a 
strong position as to be completely inaccessible, unless 
attacked at a great disadvantage. The army of the empire 
was likewise perfectly secure in the camp of Pirna. A 
considerable time elapsed in this way without matters 
coming to any issue. All the various manoeuvres of 
Frederick to draw his enemies from their entrenchments 
proved fruitless, and each day increased his anxiety, for 
another Austrian corps had advanced on Upper Silesia, 
and had already invested the fortresses Oppen and 
Neisse ; news had actually arrived of all the necessary 
preparations being made for a formal siege of Neisse. 

Frederick now^ took a speedy resolve. Finding his 
attempts to bring the enemy to an engagement ineffect- 
ual, he determined on making a rapid movement towards 
Silesia, and thus prevent the Austrians from obtaining a 
firm footing in that province ; besides which, this move- 
ment he saw would endanger the Austrian magazines 
erected in Lusatia, from which Daun drew his supplies. 



288 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

He succeeded, by sending a small corps in advance, in 
securing Bautzen, and followed in person, a few days 
afterwards, with his army. But Daun was equally alive 
to the dangers attendant on the capture of his magazines, 
and with a view to prevent botli this and Frederick's 
march on Silesia, he put his forces in motion in a similar 
direction, before Frederick's whole army had been able to 
break up. On the 10th of October, as Frederick was 
advancing from Bautzen, and had gained the village 
Hochkirch, he saw his movements impeded afresh by the 
whole Austrian army, which was encamped directly in 
his front. 

The position which Daun had selected was, as usual, 
singularly felicitous. With a range of extensive and 
thickly- wooded hills, which surrounded the village of 
Hochkirch, for his camp, it was impossible for Frederick 
to advance, and delay in Hochkirch seemed pregnant with 
danger. Frederick, who did not conceive it honorable 
to turn round at the mere glance of par enemy, or believe 
the Austrian general liliely to take any bold step on the 
ofiensiA'e, gave orders for an encampment in Hochkirch. 
The several Prussian generals present saw the rashness 
of such an act, and Prince Morrisco of Dessau took the 
liberty of making representations to the king on the sub- 
ject : but Frederick paid no attention to such remon- 
strances. The quarter- master-general of the army received 
orders to mark out the lines ; but the latter refused to 
execute the order, and thus become instrumental in the 
destruction of the army. For this he was x^unished with 
arrest. A lieutenant of the engineers was obliged, under 
Frederick's special direction to mark out the lines, al- 
though those engaged in erecting the tents were already 
greeted by showers of shot from the x\ustrian guns. Bat- 
teries were erected on two sides, for the protection of the 
camp ; one of these was raised in front of Hochkirch, on 
the side of the hill which was crowned by the village. 
Frederick's effective strength amounted to 30,000 fight- 
ing men, that of the Austrians to 65,000. 



CAMPAIGN or 1758. HOCHKIRCH. 289 

The ground occuxjied by the Prussians was the more 
dangerous, as, from the low position of the camp, it was im- 
possible to learn anything of the movements of the enemy 
on the heights ; whilst they could readily observe 
everything that took place in the Prussian camp ; besides 
which, all the woods at the base of the hill so completely 
swarmed with Austrian troops, that the Prussian videttes 
and patrols dare not \ t^iture any distance from their posts, 
whereas tlie Austrians enjoyed every facility for making 
unexpected assaults. Amidst this host of adverse circum- 
stances, Frederick remained unalterable in his idea, that 
Daun would not risk an attack, and even neglected to take 
the necessary precautionary measures, permitting the 
troops to sleep in their tents unaccoutred. Field-marshal 
Keith, who happened to be present in the camp, told him 
distinct! j% that " if the Austrians allowed them to re- 
main there in quiet, they deserved to be hung." Fred- 
erick replied with a smile, " We must hope that the 
Austrians are more afraid of us than the gallows ! " 
He was still further confirmed in his fatal resolution 
by the false statements of a spy. He had, as he 
stated, in his pay an Austrian officer, through whom 
he learned everything that passed in the enemy's camp. 
The medium of this correspondence was a basket of eggs, 
one of which invariably contained a letter. It so hap- 
pened, however, that Daun one day met the bearer of the 
eggs, and ordered him to bring them to his own kitchen, 
when the secret was discovered. Daun had the traitorous 
correspondent immediately summoned to his presence. 
The latter had of course forfeited his life ; but this was 
spared him, on condition that he continued to write similar 
letters, but under Daun's dictation. Frederick received, 
consequently, daily intelligence of the approaching de- 
parture of the Austrians, and their intended retreat on 
Bohemia; and every feeling of apprehension, which he 
might have previously entertained, was altogether re- 
moved, and his reliance on Daun's timidity fully con- 
firmed. 



290 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

This departure, however, not taking place as soon as 
he had expected, Frederick determined to deploy round 
the Austrian army, in order to escape from this state of 
inactivity ; but to the execution of this manoeuvre certain 
j)revious preparations for the sustenance of his army 
Vv-ere necessary ; and owing to a combination of circum- 
stances, his march Avas necessarily deferred until the 14th 
of October. But Daun had already taken his measures ; 
indeed, it would have been altogether unpardonable had 
he hesitated any longer to take advantage of so propitious 
a moment, when the whole Austrian army regarded the 
conduct of the King of Prussia as a formal insult ; and it 
was universally declared that the generals, one and all, 
deserved to be cashered if they refused to accept of so 
reckless a challenge. In order, however, to go the more 
securely to work, a nocturnal assault was agreed upon, 
to take place on the night of the 13th of October; the 
chief blow was to be aimed at the heights on which 
Hochkirch was situated, which were occupied by the 
tents of the left wing, and formed the most important 
point in the Prussian position. Broad ways were opened 
through the thickly wooded declivities which the Aus- 
trians held, in order that the troops might meet no 
obstacles in forming at the given points, from whence the 
left wing of the Prussians was to be on all sides assailed. 
Care was likewise taken to preserve the appearance of 
erecting fortifications on the heights, in order to conceal 
the intended assault, and lull the Prussians into false 
security. 

Night came on, and the section of the Austrian army 
selected for the assault got under arms in perfect order 
and silence. Care had even been taken that neither the 
sound of footsteps, nor the rattling of cannon should 
reach the ear of the Prussian outposts. A number of 
workmen were continually employed in the woods, and 
keeping up a perpetual noise by felling timber, and by 
loud cries and songs, they succeeded in completely drown- 
ing every other sound. This tumult was heard in the 



CAMPAIGN OF 1758. HOCHKIRCH. 291 

Prussian camp, and was considered as corroborative evi- 
dence of the zeal with which the fortifications were 
being erected. Free from every apprehension the men 
laid themselves down to rest, — the convivialities of the 
officers began gradually to abate, — dark night and deep 
slumber soon brooded over the entire camp ; the church 
clock of Hochkirch had just struck five, when sudden 
and repeated volleys of musketry were directed against 
such of the Prussian posts as stood outside the align- 
ments. The shots were at first unheeded, for hardly a 
night passed without repeated skirmishes between the 
Pandoors and the Prussian outposts. As the firmg, 
however, became more violent, such of the battalions as 
lay in the neighborhood grasped their arms, and hurry- 
ing, for the most part without boots or knapsacks, to the 
scene of action, succeeded in repulsing the assault. Croats 
and other Austrian troops had, however, crept into the 
camp, and kept firing on the Prussians, who were every 
instant more and more assailed from Avithout. A frightful 
struggle ensued. Man to man — the darkness precluding 
all possibility of mutual recognition — every one sought 
to defend himself by striking round him, indifferent 
whether his blow reached friend or foe. The men sought 
to discover their comrades by their helmets ; the metal 
helmets of the Prussians and the grenadier caps of the 
Austrians being the only distinguishing marks. It was 
not vv'ithout great loss that the Austrians broke their 
v/ay to Hochkirch. Fresh battalions came on to oppose 
them, but were continually repulsed, and being attacked 
on all sides were obliged to retire. The Austrians cap- 
tured a battery which stood in front of Hochkirch, and 
which was intended to cover the left wing of the Prus- 
sian camp ; turning the guns round, they opened a hot 
fire on the village. The cannon-balls committed frightful 
devastation in the Prussian battalions, as the latter 
pressed forward to the struggle through the narrow 
village lanes. The red volleys of the artillery had lit up 



2S2 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

the night, but when morning dawned a dense cloud long 
wrapped the whole scene in darkness. 

The thunder of the guns at length roused the various 
sections of the Prussian army from their repose. Fred- 
erick's head-quarters lay to the left of the centre, in the 
village of Rodewitz. He, too, was now awake, and hurried 
on his dress ; but had scarcely left his quarters when he 
received intelligence of the losses sustained by his right 
wing, and as he mounted his horse he w^as greeted with 
the balls fired from his own guns. Still Hochkirch was 
not as yet in the hands of the enemy. One battalion 
maintained its ground in the gardens of the village, and 
a second had secured itself in the churchyard. Frederick 
could not believe in its being a general assault, and ordered 
up single brigades to the support of the right wing and 
to drive the Austrians from their position. Field-marshal 
Keith put himself at the head of a few battalions, and 
pushing in a lateral direction on to Hochkirch, recaptured 
the Prussian battery, and drove the foe back a consider- 
able distance. But he became now locked in between 
overwhelming masses, and was obliged to force his way 
at the bayonet-point, until he at length sank dead on the 
ground beneath a shower or bullets.. The Austrians 
penetrated into Hochkirch, and seized the village, which 
burst forth into flames, but the churchyard was still 
valiantly held by the Prussians. Prince Francis of Bruns- 
wick advanced Avith fresh troops to meet the Austrians, 
and was at first successful, but soon compelled to retire, 
and, like Keith, fell on the battle-field. Prince Maurice of 
Dessau was equally unsuccessful, and Avas borne out of the 
fight mortally wounded. New masses of troops were con- 
tinually poured by the Austrians into the village until they 
at length became master of the churchyard. In it, as in a 
small fortress, the single battalion, under the command 
of Major de Lange, had with the most resolute deter- 
mination repelled the attacks of seven Austrian regiments. 
Shut in on all sides, they sought to carve a passage with 
sword and bayonet, but were all, not even excepting the 



CAMPAIGN OF 1758. HOCHKIRCH. 293 

major, left dead or wounded on the ground which they 
had so valiantly defended. Frederick strove once more 
to rob the Austrians of the advantages they had gained ; 
in person he led on six battalions to the charge, beneath 
a murderous storm of bullets. His horse was wounded 
—coolly mounting a second, he did not retreat from the 
spot, despite all the supplications of those around Mm, 
until he saw that his exertions were absolutely futile/ 
lire dense fog at length cleared away, and day brought to 
light the sad memorials of that night's havoc. Frederick 
now recalled such of his troops as had hitherto taken 
part in the fight, and drew them up in good order in line 
opposite Hochkirch. The left wing, which had as yet 
taken no part in the affray, wd.s now, in pursuance of 
Daun's original plan, likewise assailed by various divisions 
of the Austrian army. After a valiant defence the Prus- 
sians were here, too, compelled to retire, and the battery 
fell into the hands of the enemy. But the troops formed 
again in line, and a special corps of Prussians, which had 
hitherto held a distant point, and had successfully re- 
pelled many attacks on the Austrians, arrived on the field 
of battle; by which the position of the Prussian army 
was in a measure secured, and new attacks calmly defied. 
Daun considered it safer to retain what he had won than 
a second time venture on a struggle with so dangerous a 
foe : the attack during the night had cost him the best of 
his troops, and it was with difficulty that he succeeded in 
withdrawing his men from the confusion which prevailed, 
and formed them into lines. He contented himself, there- 
fore, with taking up such a position as secured his owm 
army against all assaults, instead of becoming himself the 
assailant, and remained a calm spectator of the Prussian 
retreat. This retirade, which the beaten army entered 
upon within range of the enemy's guns, was effected with 
as much regularity and systematic order as if it were a 
mere manoeuvre on a peaceful parade ; so much so that 
the Austrians themselves could not withhold their ad- 
miration at the manner in which it was executed. 



291 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

The loss of life occasioned by this frightful struggle 
was very considerable. That of the Prussians amounted 
to about 9,000 men, and that of the Austrians fell little 
short of the same number. Tiie former had, however, to 
deplore the death of their best leaders, besides the capture 
of 101 guns, 28 colors, and 2 standards, together with the 
greater part of their tents. In spite of this, Frederick 
proceeded bgit about two miles' distance from the field of 
battle, and here, on the heights near Bautzen, encamped, 
as well as this was possible without tents or baggage. 
He spared no pains in animating the courage of his valiant 
men, and had the pleasure of seeing that despondency 
formed no part of the Prussian soldier's character. As 
the regiments filed by him on their way to their canton- 
ments, on a troop of cannoniers and grenadiers passing, 
he called out to them, " Cannoniers, where have you left 
your cannon ? " " The devil carried them off last night ! " 
was the reply. " Well, then, we'll carry them off by 
day," replied Frederick ; " won't we, grenadiers ? " " Ay," 
said they, as they passed, "and with interest too!" 
Frederick smiled, and said, " I hope to be present 
on that occasion." Turning to an officer, he remarked, 
" Daun has played me a slippery trick to-day." " It's 
only a flesh-wound," replied the latter, " and won't take 
long to heal." " Do you really think so ? " said the king. 
" Not only I," replied the officer, " but the whole army 
have the fullest confidence in your majesty." " You are 
right," said the king, and taking the officer by the button 
of his uniform, as he was in the habit of doing when in 
confidential conversation — " You shall see," said he, 
" whether I don't catch Daun. I only regret that so 
many valiant men have lost their lives this day." Many 
similar remarks, in which the sad fate of the army was 
alluded to in terms of undaunted spirit, have been handed 
down to us. 

But internally Frederick could fully estimate how 
critical his situation had become, and how great a share 
of the disaster, and responsibility for the loss of so many 



CAMPAIGN OF 1758. HOCHKIRCH. 296 

gallant officers was ascribable to his own fault. Keith 
was not alone his best general, but one of his most inti- 
mate friends. After the battle of KoUin, as if to increase 
the bitterness of his sorrow, he had received the tidings 
of his mother's death, and at this melancholy juncture in- 
telligence was brought him of the decease of his fondly - 
loved sister, the Margravine of Baireuth. The latter had 
died on the day of the storm of Ilochkirch. This intelli- 
gence affected him more deeply than any of his other 
sorrows, for the Margravine had been the sympathizing 
friend of his youth, the most affectionate partner of all his 
intellectual pleasures, and his support when his spirit 
drooped beneath the threatening combinations of the 
political world. Of that heartfelt love which he bore her 
we have many evidences, and amongst others a poem, which 
he had written but a few days previously, and in which 
he endeavors to console her in a sickness that threatened 
to prove fatal. The concluding words of the poem, in 
which he offers the sacrifice of his own life for the recovery 
of his sister's, are pretty nearly as follows : 

" If, then, stern fate, unbending and supreme, 
Demand some victim's blood, then, oh, ye gods ! 
Enlighten its judicial, high decree. 
And, oh, on me let that stern choice but fall ! 
Then would I wait, unmurmuring and content, 
Until grim Death, inexorable, wend 
His footsteps from my sister's weary couch, 
And blunt his sickle's ruthless edge on me. 
But if this one sole favor which I claim 
May not to mortal prayer accorded be, 
Oh, then, ye gods, in mercy do but grant 
That she and I the selfsame day descend 
To those fair meads where softest myrtle blooms, 
And gloomy cypress high its shadow flings. 
And that one grave enwrap our common clay." 

The poem had not been sent off when the sad intelli- 
gence of his sister's decease arrived. It was now sent, 
together with some accompanying lines depicting the 
poignancy of his grief, to the husband of the deceased. 



296 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

Some months afterwards he addressed a poem to Marshal 
Keith to console him for the fall of his brother, at Hoch- 
kirch, and in it the deepest feelings of sorrow at the loss 
of his friends is breathed forth in every line. One pas- 
sage occurs, which is too characteristic of the sensibility 
of his heart for us to pass it over. It is, as nearly as we 
can render it — 

'* Oft did I weep to lose both crown and life, 

But never yet has treacherous fortune deign'd — 
She wiio so many kings against me bands — 
To wake for me the tear in pity's eye ; 
Yet will she snap the fondest, holiest ties, 
And thus, dear lord, inflict some heavy stroke. — 
Achilles' self was not invulnerable ! " 

Xor are other evidences wanting corroborative of the 
sad feelings of the monarch about this period. On the 
evening of the day on which intelligence of the death of 
the Mnrgravine of Baireuth arrived, his secretary, Le Catt, 
found him reading some sermons of the celebrated Bour- 
daloue, and thinking to raise his spirits, addressed him 
jokingly : "It seems as if your majesty intended to turn 
saint." Frederick made no reply ; but on the secretary 
(^oming to him at the usual hour on the following day, 
Frederick handed him a roll of black-edged paper, with 
directions to read it through at home. It was a sermon 
on some particular biblical text, which Frederick, actuated 
Iw his passing feelings, had composed. Le Catt, con- 
sidering it to be his duty to offer consolation to the 
inonarch, made every endeavor to whisper comfort in his 
ear, but the latter, thanking him for his sympathy, de- 
clined his attentions, assuring him, that he would make 
every exertion to rouse himself from his gloomy apathy ; 
and concluded with the ominous words : " In every event 
I have that at hand with which I can terminate this 
tragedy." But not this strange mysterious something, 
(unquestionably poison, which he always carried about 
his person,) but the peculiar greatness of his intellect was 
that which soon gave a wonderful turn to the late un- 



CAMPAIGN OF 1758. HOCHKIRCH. 297 

happy catastrophe. As he had evinced suflBcient power 
of mind to conquer his griefs and lend expression — strange 
that such expression should have been borrowed from the 
pulpit — to his feelings, so he had also calmly calculated 
all the relations of his danger, and made them subservient 
to his purposes. And thus, as Daun allowed the favor- 
able moment for following u]3 his victory to pass unheeded 
by, Frederick could truly and confidently assert, however 
vaunting these words might have appeared in the mouth 
of another : " Daun has let us out of the check. The 
game is not lost. We will remain here some days ; then 
set out for Silesia and free Neisse." 

And in truth, to the astonishment of a wondering 
world, Frederick soon accomplished that which, in any 
other person's case, must have been the fruit of a com- 
plete victory. The victorious Daun had limited his exer- 
tions to the singing of hymns and the erectmg of trophies, 
to the ordaining of feasts and the dispatch of couriers to 
Vienna and the different capitals of the allied powers, 
and finally, to the entrenching himself with care in a 
strong position. So fully did he conceive himself to have 
hereby gathered in the fruits of his victory, that he wrote 
to the general who conducted the siege of Neisse, and 
whose operations had indeed become threatening, as fol- 
lows : " Carry on your siege mthout fear. I hold the 
king fast ; he is cut off from Silesia, and if he attack me, 
I will answer for our success." 

But Frederick had given orders to Prince Henry, who 
still remained in Dresden, to join him with a part of the 
army stationed there, together with the guns, ammunition, 
and provisions. Both the armies met at Bautzen ; the 
wounded were despatched to Glogau, and Frederick made 
some movements calculated to lead the Austrian general 
to believe that he was about to retire with his whole army 
thither, and leave Saxony free for the other's operations ; 
but on the evening of the 24th of September, Frederick 
suddenly departed, and stealing round the well-intrenched 
camp of the Austrians, marched to Gorlitz. It was not 



298 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

until the following day that Daun was informed of the 
departure of the Prussians, by which all his fine plans 
were baffled ; he even became apprehensive for the safety 
of his magazines in Lusatia, Avhich might readily fall into 
the hands of the enemy ; and therefore, without loss of 
time, set out in pursuit, occui3ying the whole neighboring 
chain of hills running in a lateral direction. The King of 
Prussia would have willingly come to an engagement, but 
Daun did not descend from the heights ; Frederick was 
therefore obliged to push forward by forced marches for 
Silesia, whilst Daun, as soon as had secured his magazines 
returned in the direction of Dresden, and merely employed 
his light troops in impeding the march of the Prussians. 
On the 7th of November Frederick received the glad tid- 
ings that the Austrians had raised the siege of Neisse on 
the first news of his approach, and had retired in the 
direction of Moravia. Not long after this the Avhole of 
Silesia was completely evacuated by the several Austrian 
corps. Frederick now visited Neisse, in order to gratify 
himself with a sight of those admirable defences which he 
himself had raised, and which had Avithstood the effects 
of the enemy's bombardment ; he then made preparation 
for a rapid march back to Saxony. 

In order to secure, in a measure, the success of this last 
enterprise, Frederick had left but a small segment of his 
army in Dresden, to strengthen which the Prussian corps, 
that had hitherto resisted the Swedes and Russians, was 
now recalled. Before the arrival of the latter, Daun had 
already reached Dresden, and the army of the empire, 
which had, up to this period, proved very lethargic, now 
began to give signs of life, and advanced likewise. As the 
Prussian army was extremely feeble, and the garrison of 
Dresden, under General Schmettau, well equipped and 
capable of sustaining a siege for a considerable time, it 
seemed prudent to avoid a battle and retire from Dresden, 
thus inviting the Austrian leader to enter on a siege, 
which he would afterwards, in all probability, be com- 
pelled to raise. Daun was mightily pleased with the de- 



CAMPAIGN OF 1758. HOCHKIRCH. 299 

termination to which his enemy had come, hoping by the 
conquest of Dresden to give a brilliant termination to the 
entire campaign ; but on his beginning to make the first 
preparations for a siege, General Schmettau sent him 
word, that in the event of his approaching any nearer, the 
latter should feel it his duty to burn down the suburbs. 
This warning passed unheeded, and on the 10th of No- 
vember the threat was put into execution ; one hundred 
and eight houses became a prey to the flames. This con- 
duct, which was, however, justifiable as a measure of self- 
defence, so infuriated the Austrian field-marshal, that he 
sent a message to Schmettau to the effect, " that after such 
unheard-of conduct in a capital, he should hold the com- 
mandant personally responsible for his acts." It is pos- 
sible that Daun might not at that moment have called to 
mind the fact, that the x\ustrian army had the year before, 
without any necessity whatsoever, laid the flourishing 
town of Zittau, which belonged, besides, to their ally, 
Saxony, in ashes. Schmettau simply replied, that his 
orders were to defend the town : if the enemy approached 
any nearer the remainder of the suburbs should be burnt 
down ; and that, if the Austrians persisted in approaching 
still closer, every street in the capital should meet the 
same fate, whilst he would retire from the ramparts to the 
palace, there to await the final result. 

Intelligence now arrived that Frederick was hastening 
back to Saxony ; and as some fev/ enterprises, undertaken 
by the army of the empire against Torgau and Leipzig, 
had met with the most unequivocal success, partly through 
the resolute conduct of a corps which had advanced from 
Pomerania, Daun considered the answer he had received 
from Schmettau sufficient to justify him, under the circum- 
stances, in abstaining from pushing matters to extremities, 
and thereby possibly endangering the laurels he had 
already won at Hochkirch. He therefore sent a message 
to Schmettau to state that, out of respect for the royal 
family of Poland, and regard for his fellow-creatures, he 
should abandon all further attempts on Dresden. He 



300 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

then retreated towards Bohemia, and as the army of the 
empire had previously taken the route to Franconia, Fred- 
erick, on his arrival in Dresden, found no enemy to 
contend with. He therefore sent the corps which he had 
drawn from Pomerania, back to oppose the Swedes, who 
had in the interim made some advances, but were soon 
driven back once more to Stralsund. 

Thus was another campaign ended, without Frederick's 
losing any portions of his territories except those which 
were occupied in the far east and west of his dominions, 
and without surrendering one foot of ^axony. He could 
now permit his troops to take up their winter-quarters in 
security, there to recruit their strength after so many toils. 

But for Daun a special mark of honor Avas in store. It 
was not sufficient that the em^press expressed in the most 
flattering terms the immense debt of gratitude she owed 
him for the victory of Hochkirch ; even the pope, Clement 
XIII., who had been but that year invested with the papal 
dignity, and who appears not to have sufficiently weighed 
how impartially Frederick acted towards his Catholic sub- 
jects, considered his victory as a most important event as 
regarded the interests of the Church. On the Austrian 
field-marshal he conferred a consecrated sword with a 
golden hilt and red velvet scabbard, a consecrated hat of 
scarlet velvet, lined with ermine and bound in gold, and 
surmounted by a dove embroidered in pearls, the symbol 
of that spirit which was to preside over the hallowed arms 
of the warrior. So unusual a mark of distinction indi- 
cated very fully the singularly strong feelings of dis- 
pleasure with which the pontiff regarded the acts of the 
monarch of Prussia. It had never been conferred before 
on any, save those who, in defence of the holy doctrines 
of Christianity, had turned their arms against the heathen. 
But this act of seeming partisanship was impolitic, for, 
from thenceforward it became apparent that it was Prus- 
sia's future mission to enter the list for, and become the 
champion of dissent and the free exercise of private judg- 
ment. It had but the effect of conciliating for the great 



CAMPAIGN OF 1758. PIOCHKIRCH. SOI 

king the hearts of all opposed to Rome, without produc- 
ing any of the results which its author intended that it 
should. For although the Prince Elector of Cologne may 
have been thereby induced to forbid his Protestant sub- 
jects, under severe penalties, to testify any satisfaction 
at the Prussian victories, yet history does not warrant us 
in believing that this prohibition tended materially to 
arrest the progress of Frederick's successes. And the 
latter, wlio fought as valiantly with the pen as with the 
sword, did not allow the occasion to pass over, without 
profiting by it, and sending forth a series of satirical pam- 
phlets, in which he treated the act with derision, and con- 
tended, that it was more calculated for the meridian of 
mediaeval pontifficism, than the enlightened Christianity 
of modern days. 



302 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

CA3IPAIGN OP THE YEAR 1759. CUNNERSDORF. 

During three long years had this sanguinary contest 
now been waged, — many murderous battles had been 
fought — the blood of thousands flowed in streams — bloom- 
ing meads had been laid desolate — towns and villages had 
sunk into sightless masses of dust and ashes — countless 
families, once Avealthy, now wandered about in beggary. 
Still the jealousies of those in power had not as yet one 
whit abated, nor could the hope of hurling the petty 
Prussian monarch from a height which he had, in the 
opinion of his enemies, usurped, be for an instant aban- 
doned. Frederick would have readily laid down his arms ; 
he was no insatiable conqueror, and knew no hatred, ex- 
cept of the mean and unworthy. He was weary of those 
ceaseless, unending toils to which the vast preponderance 
of his enemies perpetually forced him. " At a distance," 
he thus writes, towards the beginning of the year 1759, 
to his friend the Marquis D'Argens — " my position may 
appear bright and brilliant ; but if you were to examine 
it more closely you would find nqthing but a heavy, im- 
penetrable mist. I hardly know whether there be a Sans- 
souci in the world. Be this place where it may, for me 
this epithet does not exist. In short, my dear Marquis, 
I am old, sad, and miserable. From time to time a gleam 
of my former lightness of heart bursts upon me; but 
these are but sparks which are speedily extinguished, as 
there is no real fire to give them permanence. They are 
the flashes of lightning bursting forth from dark thunder- 
clouds. To you I speak in all sincerity, and I assure you, 



CAMPAIGN OF 1759. CUNNERSDORF. 303 

that were you to see me you could not now recognize a 
trace of wiiat I once was. You would find an old man, 
whose hairs have become gray, who has lost half of his 
teeth, joyless, without fire or life ; in short, as unlike his 
former self as the remains of Tusculum, of which the 
architects, from the absence of ruins which might mark 
the real residence of Cicero, have drawn so many visionary 
plans. These are, my friend, the results not so much of 
time as of care : the sad harbingers of that feebleness 
which accompanies the autumn of our years. These con- 
siderations, as they render me very indifferent to life, 
place me exactly in that position in which a man should 
stand whose destiny is to fight for life and death. With 
this indifference to life one fights with more courage, and 
leaves the world with less regret." 

He had employed the winter in making new prepara- 
tions for war, as far as his resources admitted. But he 
was resolved on altering his system for the future, and 
abstaining from opening each campaign, as hitherto, by 
assuming the offensive, and made up his mind to stand 
from henceforth upon the defensive, husbanding his re- 
sources for the w^arding off of aggressions, and watching 
with wary circumspection each movement of the enemy. 

The campaign of this year, like that of the last, was 
opened by the appearance on the field of the army of the 
allies, under Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick, and the 
armies of the French. During the whiter the French 
had, under Soubise, paid a visit to Frankfort on the Main. 
This town, as it furnished its contingent to the army of 
the empire, did not think it had anything to apprehend 
from an ally of the empire. By the possession of Frank- 
fort the French were able to maintain a communication 
with the Austrians and army of the empire, and all the 
necessary supplies were thereby readily obtained. For 
these reasons Duke Ferdinand resolved on again driving 
them from this important point. He pushed forward, 
and on the 13th of April a battle took place at Bergen, 
in the neighborhood of Frankfort. The French, under 



304 FREDERICK THE GREAT; 

the command of Broglio, who had superseded Soubise as 
commander-in-chief, maintained their ground, and the 
two Frencli corps immediately penetrated into Germany. 
Cassel, Mlinster, Minden, besides considerable numbers 
of the allied troops fell into their hands. But Ferdinand 
still commanded the Weser. In the neighborhood of 
Minden he encountered the northern colujnns of the 
French army, and on the first of August obtained a bril- 
liant victory over it, whilst a special French corps was 
contemporaneously annihilated by his nephew, the Prince 
Royal of Brunswick. A series of successful engagements 
ensued, and the French in a short time saw themselves 
compelled to relinquish all their brilliant conquests of 
the year. The surprise of Fulda concluded the glorious 
campaign : it had been held by the Duke of Wurtemberg, 
who was in the pay of France, and had reinforced the 
army of the enemy with 12,000 men. But he, too, was 
obliged to retire with considerable loss back upon the 
Main. 

On the Prussian side serious hostilities did not com- 
mence until summer. Frederick wished, as we have 
already observed, to watch the motions of the enemy, and 
await the most propitious moment for attack. But he 
remained no idle spectator. All the movements of an 
army being in those days dependent for support on maga- 
zines, the enemy had laid up at the different points on 
the frontiers of the Prussian states, where they had win- 
tered, considerable stores for the maintenance of their 
future operations. Frederick, knowing that if he could 
but succeed in destroying these a heavy blow would be 
thereby inflicted on his enemies, determined on making 
the attempt, and as early as the month of February dis- 
patched a corps to Poland, Avhere the Russians had erected 
very considerable magazines along the banks of the 
Wartha. It being a main object now to counteract the 
operations of a Polish nobleman. Prince Sulkowski, who, 
notwithstanding the neutrality which the Polish republic 
maintained, and although his residence, Reisen, lay close 



CAMPAIGN OF 1759. CUNNERSDORF. 305 

to the borders of Silesia, had organized large contributions 
for the Russians, and even levied troops for their service, 
both himself and his body-guard was seized and trans- 
ported to Glogau. The Prussians also succeeded in de- 
stroying throughout Poland a quantity of provisions, 
which would liave been sufficient for the support of 50,000 
men for three months. A second expedition of the same 
nature was planned against Moravia, to issue from Upper 
Silesia, and although not followed up, yet it was so far suc- 
cessful as to induce Daun, wlio apprehended this incur- 
sion on Moravia, to concentrate his principal strength in 
that quarter, and thus expose the Bohemian territories on 
the Saxon side to the inroad of the Prussians. Prince 
Henry, wlio commanded the Prussian army in Saxony, 
having already driven the advanced posts of the army of 
the empire out of Thuringia, now dispatched several corps 
into Bohemia, and in the sliort space of five days destroyed 
all the magazines to be found there, inflicting on the 
enemy double the amount of injury caused in Poland. 
Daun sent reinforcements without loss of time towards 
the Saxon border, but the Prussians had already returned 
in safety. Prince Henry was not, however, content with 
the execution of a single daring enterprise : with more 
preparation, and still more success, he undertook a similar 
one against the army of the empire stationed in Franconia, 
between Bamberg and Hof. He advanced in several 
columns against it, and one division of the army of the 
empire fled after the other precipitately before him, and 
did not rally until they reached Nuremberg. A large 
number of prisoners and all the principal magazines fell 
into the hands of the Prussians, who, after levying very 
considerable contributions from the Franconian to^vns, 
and liaving made repeated attempts to induce the enemy 
to come to an engagement, returned back to Saxony, 
where their presence had become now desirable. This 
expedition had been organized and executed within a 
month. 

On the occasion of tliis movement on Franconia that 



306 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

class of persons who felt more disposed to indulge in 
calumnies and slanderous attacks on the character of the 
Prussian monarch than in any feats of heroism received 
a sound warning. A Prussian officer arriving with his 
troops at a rapid pace at Erlanger, paid a visit to a noto- 
rious pamphleteer, and ordered a round number of lashes 
to be administered to the astonished publicist. Having 
executed this act of retributive justice, he returned to 
the army, with a regular receipt, which the recipient had 
been obliged to furnish him with, in acknowledgment of 
payment. 

Frederick as yet remained at Landshut, watching the 
movements of the Austrian army, which, under the com- 
mand of Daun, lay at Schurz, in Bohemia, but on its 
advancing northwards, in the direction of Marklissa, he 
followed in its footsteps, and true to his defensive system, 
took up an entrenched position near Schmottseifen. 

This .movement of the Austrian army had taken place 
in order to support some recent plans of the Russians, 
with whose operations the former had been induced to 
co-operate. The Russians had, as early as the end of 
November, crossed the Vistula, and reconstructed their 
magazines. Frederick now sent the greater part of the 
corps which had been stationed under Graf Dohna in 
Pomerania, with orders to attack the single columns of 
the Russian army whilst still on their march. Dohna 
did not, however, succeed in effecting this, and the whole 
result of his mission consisted in his carrying off a 
number of their magazines, whilst their different corps 
coalesced and advanced towards the Oder. As Dohna 
would not venture on a battle, Frederick conceived it 
advisable to appoint some more enterprising general in 
his stead. He selected Wedell, who had by his gallantrj^ 
during the second Silesian war obtained the appellation 
of the Prussian Leonidas, and had already distinguished 
himself most brilliantly at Leuthen. But Wedell Avas 
one of the youngest generals in the army, and in order to 
avoid giving offence to his elder colleagues, and also with 



CAMPAIGN OF 1750. CUNNERSDORF. 307 

a view, perhaps, to enkindle his enthusiasm to the highest 
by the unusual nature of the honor conferred, Frederick 
formally nominated him dictator, after the fashion of 
ancient Rome. " Henceforward you represent my person 
in the army," said the king ; " what you order shall be 
done in my name, as if I myself were present. I have 
learnt to prize your good qualities at Leuthen, and place 
the most unbounded confidence in them. You are, there- 
fore, like many of the Romans, nominated dictator, to 
improve my situation on the Oder. I give you orders to 
attack the Russians wheresoever you come up with them ; 
beat them soundly, and prevent their junction mth the 
Austrians ! " 

Wedell came up with the Russians in the neighborhood 
of Ziillichau, where they were very firmly entrenched near 
the village of Kay. Wholly disregarding the natural 
strength of their position, and solely mindful of the 
king's command, he attacked them on the 23d of July 
with but one third of their number. But the personal 
courage of the dictator and his men proved of no avail 
against overwhelming numbers and the disadvantages of 
the ground. In vain were the charges renewed till night- 
fall ; the Prussians were eventually obliged to leave the 
field with a loss of upwards of 8000 men. The Russians 
pushed on to Frankfort, and were there joined by an 
Austrian corps under the command of Loudon. 

The most momentous dangers now came crowding fast 
round Frederick. He saw no other alternative than 
marching in proper person to check the Russians. Sum- 
moning Prince Henry, with the greater part of his army 
from Saxony, he entrusted him with the command of the 
camp in Schmottseifen, and set out in person, at the head 
of a considerable body of troops, being likewise joined by 
the remnant of WedelPs corps on the way to Frankfort. 

The Russian army, under the command of General 
Soltikoff, had taken up an entrenched position on the op- 
posite bank of the Oder. Soltikoff had pitched his camp, 
on a ridge of hills running towards the east of Frankfort, 



308 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

in front of Avhich the village of Cunnersdorf lies, and had 
secured the declivities with strong batteries. Frederick 
found it neccessary to push on beyond Frankfort, and 
cross the stream between that to^vn and Ciistrin ; by so 
doing, he came in front of one face of the Russian army. 
On the 11th of August he took up his position here. The 
numerical strength of the Russian army, inclusive of the 
Austrian auxiliaries, amounted to 70,000 fighting men, 
whilst Frederick had but 43,000 wherewith to oppose 
them. 

On the 12th of August, about two o'clock in the morn- 
ing, the Prussians got under arms. They deployed in a 
curve laterally, as the ground was .intersected with rivu- 
lets and streams, and marched through a fir-grove to face 
the enemy's left wing. It was eleven o'clock in the fore- 
noon before they reached the skirt of the wood and pre- 
pared for action. The heat was oppressive, and the army 
had enjoj^ed no rest for the two preceding nights. The 
cannon were brought u]3 in position, and a violent cannon- 
ade immediately opened, which was quickly responded to 
from the hostile batteries. The Prussian infantry now 
assailed the heights on which the enemy was posted. In 
the face of a shower of shot which fell amongst them, 
they valiantly climbed over the barricade erected by the 
Russians to protect their position, gained the heights and 
captured the battery. One Russian regiment after the 
other was overthrown, and the Prussians were soon in 
entire possession of the heights, which had formed the 
position of the Russian left wing. An immense number 
of prisoners and cannon were in their hands. It was not 
until the Russians had reached the opposite side of a 
ravine, with steep precipitous sides, that they rallied and 
opposed fresh troops to the Prussian advance ; but the 
impetuosity of Frederick's men was not to be thus checked. 
Springing into the ravine they clambered up its precipitous 
sides : the efforts of the Russians to hurl them dowTi 
])roved unavailing; they forced the enem^^ from the 
ground, and made good their position here also. 



CAMPAIGN OF 1759. CUNNERSDORF. 309 

It was now five o'clock in the afternoon ; two-thirds of 
the enemy had been beaten and driven from their ground ; 
ninety guns were in the hands of the Prussians ; the 
victorj^ might now be regarded as certain, and couriers 
were already dispatched with the glad intelligence to 
Berlm. It was but natural to suppose that the enemy, 
after receiving so severe a blow, would have retreated ; 
but Frederick was not disposed to allow the discomfitc ' 
foe to escape so easily, and as the fortune of the day hii 
hitherto proved so propitious towards him, he trusted ii. 
his now succeeding in entirely annihilating the power of 
his adversaries. It was in vain that representations were 
made to him of how much his own infantry had suffered, 
of how completely exhausted they were from the heat of 
the day, and of the danger of driving the enemy to des- 
peration, and the admirable position which its right wing 
still occupied. In truth, the heights on which the enemy's 
right wing still stood (the Judenberg, near Frank- 
fort,) completely commanded the ridge of hills which 
had been taken. Towering in the shape of an amphi- 
theatre above these latter, they Avere still held by the 
enemy, who was well supplied with cannon. But Fred- 
erick remained unalterable in his resolves, and gave 
orders to renew the fight. Both armies stood beneath a 
heavy fire of musketry, but the Prussians were deficient 
in heavy ordinance, as they could not, from the sandy 
nature of the ground, be dragged up the heights, whilst 
the enemy's cannon posted on the Judenberg began to 
spread frightful havoc and devastation through their 
ranl^s. Completely exhausted from heat and fatigue 
they could now no longer fire with the same regularity 
and precision as hitherto. Without succeeding in ob- 
taining any advantage over the enemy they still remained 
firm in their position. The cavalry which had, from the 
unfavorable nature of the ground, been hitherto unable 
to take any part in the conflict, now received orders to 
charge. But very many of the Prussian horse fell into 
the pits which had been constructed by the Russians ; 



310 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

the others were received with frightful discharges of 
handgrenades, and on the advance of some of the enemy's 
cavalry, were completely repulsed. 

Thus an hour of the struggle passed. As yet but a 
single regiment of the Austrian auxiliaries had taken part 
in the contest ; Loudon now perceived that the decisive 
moment had arrived. Bursting at once with his clouds 
of cavalry across a deep valley, which from that day 
forth bears the name of " Loudon's ground," unperceived 
by the Prussians, he suddenly fell upon the latter in flank 
and rear as they stood in l3roken lines, and being no 
longer able to maintain their ground, they were forced to 
retreat. Frederick did all in his power to retain the ad- 
vantages of the day ; he exhorted his men to steady per- 
severance, and led some battalions anew to the charge, 
but in vain. One horse had been already shot under 
him ; several officers and adjutants had already fallen at 
his side, and several shots had penetrated his own uni- 
form ; still he Avould not yield. A ball now struck the 
breast of the second horse that he had mounted ; and an 
adjutant and non-commissioned officer, the only persons 
near him, rushed forward and caught him in their arms, 
as the horse was about to plunge on its side. No fresh 
horse being now to be had, he mounted that of the ad- 
jutant. Another ball now struck him in the hip, but was 
turned aside in its course by a golden case which he 
carried in his pocket. Several officers now arrived with 
intelligence of the amount of his disasters ; and entreated 
him most earnestly to retire from so exposed and danger- 
ous a position. To their entreaties he replied, " We umi-t 
make every attempt to regain this battle ; I must do my 
duty as well as you." All this obstinate resistance 
availed not. The foe charged on impetuously anew, and 
the Prussians fled in wild confusion from the field of 
battle to screen themselves in the neighboring wood from 
the wrath of their enemy. In the midst of the confusion 
the king's voice was heard shouting in desperation; 
" Can then no cursed ball reach me ? " 



CAMPAIGN OF 1759. CUNNERSDORF. 311 

Some Prussian hussars were the last upon the field of 
battle. As they too were plunging their spurs into their 
horses' sides, to escape from the clouds of Cossack cavalry 
that now pressed forward, a hussar suddenly called out 
to the officer in command, " Captain, there stands the 
king ! " The officer, turning round, saw the king, standing 
on a mound of sand, attended only by a single page who 
held his horse. He had driven his sword into the ground, 
and was gazing with folded arms on his own approaching 
ruin. The hussars flew precipitately towards him ; but 
it was with the utmost difficulty that the captain suc- 
ceeded in persuading him to mount his horse and provide 
for his personal safety. At length, giving ear to the re- 
monstrances of the officer, he addressed him, — " Well, sir, 
if this be your opinion, on ! " But the Cossacks were al- 
ready down upon them. The captain, turning round in 
his saddle, shot the officer in command of the hostile 
troop, and checked for a moment its assaults ; enabling 
Frederick and his hussars to get so much in advance as 
to be safe from their pursuers. 

The night was passed in a small village on the Oder, 
in a ruined peasant's hut. The hussars had been sent 
out to rally, if possible, his shattered forces, now dis- 
persed on all sides. A page and a single servant alone 
remained with Frederick, and kept guard in turn before 
the door. Some of the wounded who lay in the village, 
hearing of the king's presence, came to act as sentries, and 
a considerable number of troops was thus gradually con- 
centrated round the monarch. Many believed that the 
king had actually fallen. 

Frederick felt perfectly convinced that, if the Russians 
followed up their victory \Aath the slightest vigor, all 
hope of escape was at an end. He had, however, fully 
resolved never to outlive captivity, and the disgraceful 
and ruinous terms which would be naturally insisted on 
as the price of his freedom. He accordingly took ad- 
vantage of this night to make his last dispositions. 
Prince Henry was to succeed as generalissimo of his army, 



312 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

and to swear allegiance to his nephew Frederick William, 
the heir presumptive to the crown, then in his fifteenth 
year. The court and the archives were to be removed 
with all possible expedition from Berlin, whither he sup- 
posed his enemy to be already advancing from all sides. 
To Count Finkenstein, the minister of state, he wrote as 
follows : " I am now wholly bereft of all aid ; and, to 
speak the truth, I believe that all is lost. I will not 
outlive the downfall of my native land. Farewell foi 
ever ! " 

Hopeless as Frederick's condition evidently was, and 
fearful as the apprehensions which he must have had for 
his own personal safety unquestionably were, still his 
heart felt the liveliest sympathy for the disastrous fate 
which so many of his faithful subjects had that day met, 
and his exertions even yet to aid, where aid could still 
avail, were unceasing. Two young officers of his army 
had been frightfully wounded ; a cannon-ball had torn 
away the greater part of the arm of one, ond a shell 
loaded with iron-filings had horribly shattered the arm 
and hand of the other : they had been conveyed into the 
village in which Frederick had taken up his quarters for 
the night, and had here somewhat recovered, but none of 
the surgeons would take the trouble to bind their ghastly 
wounds. The result of the battle Avas as yet unknown to 
them, when Frederick unexpectedly entered the chamber 
in which they lay saturated in their blood. " Ah, 
children," were his first words, "you seem severely 
wounded ! " " Yes, your majesty," replied they ; " but 
our sufferings would be lightly esteemed could we learn 
that you had conquered : we had already passed two re- 
doubts, and had reached the third when we were struck." 
The king replied, " You have proved that you are invin- 
cible ; everything else is chance. Keep up your courage ; 
all will yet go well, and you will recover. Have your 
wounds been dressed ? have you been bled ? " " No, 
your majesty," replied they, "there is no one to bind 
our wounds." A surgeon was immediately summoned ; 



CAMPAIGN OF 1759. CUNNERSDORF. 313 

Frederick expressed his high displeasure at the neglect 
which had been shown, and at the same time gave strict 
injunctions that every attention should be paid to the 
wants of those gallant soldiers. The surgeon examined 
the wounds, shrugged his shoulders, and averred that no 
bandaging would be of avail, and that no surgical as- 
sistance could now be of any use, even though he were to 
amputate the wounded limbs. The king seized the 
young warriors by the hand, and turning to the surgeon, 
addressed him : " Look ye, no fever has as yet set in ; 
nature works miracles when the blood is young and the 
heart as fresh as in them." Both oflBcers did, in fact, re- 
cover, and continued in the service of Prussia up to the 
peace, when they were amply rewarded for their gallantry. 
Frederick, who had selected the chamber in which they 
lay to pass the night, gave it up to their use, and contented 
himself with one far inferior. Horrible visions of the 
future now danced in his brain, as he lay stretched upon 
his straw pallet : he could not sleep. An officer bringing 
him intelligence on the following morning that they had 
succeeded in saving some of the guns, he wildly ex- 
claimed, " Sir, you lie. I have no more cannon ! " No 
one ventured to approach him. An old colonel, MoUer, 
was the only person to whom he imparted his grief. On 
inquiring of the latter how it came that his army did not 
now prove as successful as formerlj^, Moller, recollecting 
perhaps Leuthen, and the then pious feelings of the army, 
replied, that no prayers had been now for a long time 
said by the soldiers. Frederick the following day gave 
orders that divine service should be henceforth performed 
with strict regularity. 

The Russians had neglected to cull the fruits of their 
victory. The staff, composed of the general officers, as- 
sembled on the evening of the battle in a peasant's hut, 
and held a council of war as to the expediency of pursu- 
ing the conquered Prussians. Exhausted by the extreme 
heat of the day, some refreshing drink had been called for, 
ttnd all thoughts of further exertions were soon drowned 



314 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

in its intoxicating influence. Frederick suffered no fur- 
ther annoyance during that night, and on the following 
morning his scattered troops had rallied round him, and 
formed a body of 18,000 men. With these he crossed the 
Oder without interruption, and having broken doAvn the 
bridges, formed an encampment between Frankfort and 
CUstrin. He now saw that the enemy had still left him 
some hopes. Shortly previous to the battle he had re- 
ceived, tlirough an adjutant of Duke Ferdinand of Bruns- 
wick, intelligence of the glorious victory which the latter 
had obtained at Minden, and had begged of the messenger 
to wait until the battle was over, in order to be able to 
convey to the duke similar despatches from him. He now 
dismissed the messenger with the words: "It grieves 
me sorely that the reply to such good intelligence must 
be so disastrous. But should you succeed in getting back, 
and if Daun be not already in Berlin, and Contades in 
ilagdeburg, you can assure Duke Ferdinand from me that 
there has not been much lost." It required some time to 
be able to estimate the extent of his disasters. Upwards 
of 18,000 men, 127 guns, 26 colors, and 2 standards, be- 
sides the whole of the captured artillery, had been lost. 
Many of the best officers of the army had been severely 
wounded. The fate of a poet, De Kleist, whose brilliant 
talents had already secured him a high degree of popular- 
ity, and whose valor was conspicuous in the ranks of 
the Prussians, was peculiarly melancholy. A grape-shot 
had shattered his leg, — the Cossacks had stripped his 
body, and flung him into a marsh, where, after some lius- 
sian hussars had paid him some slight attention, he was 
again stripped and plundered by the Cossacks. Towards 
noon on the following day he was discovered by a Rus- 
^;ian officer, who had him carried to Frankfort, where he 
died on the 24th of August, notwithstanding the mostun- 
remitting attentions had been paid to him. He was at- 
tended to the grave by a solemn procession, in which both 
the Russians and the members of the Frankfort Univers- 
ity joined. A Russian officer of the staff placed his own 



CAMPAIGN OF 1759. CUNNERSDORF. 315 

sword uiDon the coffin, " that so distinguished an officer 
might not be buried without due honors." 

But the losses sustained by the hostile army were like- 
wise by no means inconsiderable, and somewhat exceeded 
16,000 men. Soltikoff wrote to the empress as follows : 
" The King of Prussia generally sells his defeats dear, and 
should I have to communicate intelligence of a second 
victory of this kind, I shall be obliged to take a staff in 
my hand and bring the tidings myself." 

Nothing, however, could banish the conviction from 
Frederick's mind that the enemy would, at least, in so far 
take advantage of their victory as to enter Mark Branden- 
burg and advance on his wholly defenceless capital. The 
passage of the Russians across the Oder, and the approach 
of the Austrian main army, under Daun, afforded ample 
grounds to justify such a conviction. Concentrating, 
therefore, every relic of his military strength which still 
remained, he ordered new guns to be forwarded from the 
arsenals, and took up a position in Flirstenwalde on the 
Spree, so as to cover as much as possible the road to Berlin. 
But that which every rational being must have naturally 
expected did not occur, for the enemy remained a consider- 
able time in their position without attempting anything. 
Daun wished to throw the burden of the march on Berlin 
upon the Russians, and Soltikoff, who was somewhat sen- 
sitive on account of the former inactivity of the Austrian 
main army, contended that he had won two battles, and 
before exposing his troops to any further sacrifices he 
was entitled to await the news of two victories achieved 
by the Austrians. Thus jealousy and dissension sprang 
up between the hostile generals, and tended materially to 
relieve Frederick from his perilous position. This inter- 
ruption of the enemy's movements was now doubly desir- 
able, as the most imminent danger threatened the safety 
of Saxony likewise. The army of the empire had already 
advanced into that country, which was almost wholly un- 
supplied with troops, and had within a short time taken 
Leipzig, Wittenberg, Torgau, and were now preparing to 



316 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

invest Dresden. Schmettau, who was in command of the 
Prussian garrison in Dresden, was making his dispositions 
for as obstinate a defence as that of the year before, when 
he received a letter, which Frederick had written imme- 
diately after the defeat at Cunnersdorf, when in the midst 
of his disasters, in which he was directed not to allow 
matters to come to extremities, but to direct his principal 
attention to the saving, if possible, of the royal treasure. 
This order deprived him at once of all thoughts of further 
resistance, little tliinking that Frederick had dispatched 
two corps to his relief, and that they were already close 
at hand. He capitulated, and Dresden passed into the 
hands of the enemy. 

Prince Henry had hitherto quietly maintained his 
position near Schmottseifen, on the Silesian frontier, and 
had been treated with ridicule by the Austrians for his 
inactivity. He now suddenly broke up his camp, and 
following in the rear of the Austrian army attacked and 
beat many of its isolated detachments, destroyed the 
magazines from which Daun drew his supplies, and com- 
pelled the latter to turn his arms against him. Daun 
strove, now that matters had assumed such an unfavor- 
able turn, merely to prevent the prince from entering 
Saxony, but the latter had anticipated his movements. 
The two corps which Frederick had dispatched had 
advanced with such rapidity and success that Henry 
effected a union with them, and Daun, not wishing to 
relinquish Saxony, against which the Austrian operations 
were mamly directed, immediately abandoned his position 
in the neighborhood of the Russian army, and turning 
his arms against Prince Henry, a series of military 
manoeuvres ensued. The final result of tliese several 
actions, which proved highly glorious for the Prussian 
arms, was, that the Austrians and the allied army of the 
empire lost the greater portion of their Saxon conquests, 
no place of any consequence except Dresden remaining 
in their hands. 

The Russians had in the meantime broken up their en- 



CAMPAIGN OF 1759. CUNNERSDOHF. 3l7 

campment in the neighborhood of Frankfort, and were 
moving in a southerly direction, towards the Silesian 
frontier, closely followed by Frederick. On Soltikoff's 
learning that Daun, instead of sending reinforcements 
to the Russian army, as had been agreed upon, (Loudon's 
corps still remained incorporated with the Russian army,) 
had turned his whole strength against Saxony, especially 
as the provisions began to fall short, resolved on retiring 
to Poland. Daun, instead of provisions, sent him subsi- 
dies in money, which elicited from Soltikoflf the reply that 
the Russians could not eat coin. But Daun's chief aim 
was to prevent Frederick's army from reaching Saxony, 
and with this view he endeavored once more to induce Sol- 
tikoff to prosecute his march on Silesia. He himself made 
preparations to besiege Glogau, but on approaching this 
fortess he found that he had been already circumvented 
by Frederick, who had taken up such a strong position 
as completely to block up the road thither. Soltikoff 
eventually fell back, towards the close of October, on 
Poland. Just about this period Frederick was attacked 
with a most severe fit of gout ; he could neither ride nor 
drive, and was obliged to be carried about on a litter 
He did not allow himself, however, to be prevented from 
the discharge of his kingly duties by this unexpected 
enemy, but resolutely defying all bodily pain, as when 
in perfect health, he superintended and directed every 
operation in person. When in Kbben, a Silesian town on 
the Oder, he summoned the generals of his army to his 
presence, previous to the retreat of the Russians. They 
found him lying in a wretched room, his head bound in a 
cloth, and himself wrapped in a sable robe. In spite of 
the violent pains which racked his limbs, he addressed 
them gaily : " Gentlemen, I have summoned you to inform 
you of the dispositions I have made, and at the same time 
to convince you that nothing short of the violence of my 
disease prevents me from appearing personally before the 
army. Assure my brave troops that this is not a feigned 
^kkness ; tell them that though I have had much ill sue- 



318 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

cess during the present campaign, yet I shall never rest 
until all be again made good— that I place the most 
unlimited confidence in their gallantry, and that nothing 
but death can ever separate me from my army." He 
issued his orders with the most surprising composure, and 
made such arrangements as his altered circumstances 
demanded. One division of his army was destined to 
cover Silesia; another was dispatched to Saxony to 
support Prince Henry. 

The inactivity to which Frederick, partly in con- 
sequence of the movements of the Russians, and partly 
from his own indisposition, was doomed, had been devoted 
to literary recreations and pursuits congenial to the 
refined tastes of the monarch. Every moment that he 
could possibly spare from his administrative duties had 
been husbanded with care and employed in study ; and 
being always provided with a small camp-library, he was 
able to strengthen and relieve his mind bj^ reading and 
composition. Being then engaged in the perusal of a his- 
tory of the life and achievements of Charles XH., the tal- 
ented and adventurous Swedish king, he was induced to 
draw up a small and very interesting tract : " Considera- 
tions on the Character and Talents of Charles XII." 
Writing on this subject to the Marquis D'Argens, he says, 
" Being unceasingly engaged with military ideas, my mind, 
when I seek relief from distracting cares, naturally turns to 
cognate subjects of this class, so much so, indeed, that 
I can think of nothing else." He had this work printed 
during the following winter, but being intended strictly 
for private circulation amongst his friends, only twelve 
copies were printed, and these were distributed amongst 
the favored few. 

He had hardly become convalescent when he hurried 
forward to Saxony, where matters had in the interim 
taken a most favorable turn. The hostile army had been 
driven back upon Dresden, and on the 14th of Xovember 
Frederick reached the Prussian camp, where he highly 
complimented his brother, whose successful operations in 



CAMPAIGN OF 1759. CUNNERSDORF. ^^19 

Lusatia and Saxony were mainly instrumental in giving 
this fortunate turn to the whole campaign, on his military 
talents and success. "Henry," said he, "is the only 
general who has committed no mistakes during this 
campaign." But these successes were to be now con- 
summated by one decisive act, and the enemy driven out 
from the whole of Saxony. Frederick put himself at the 
head of his army, pursued the retreating foe, and came to 
a decisive engagement near the village of Krogis. Several 
corps were now dispatched to hang on the enemy's rear 
and harass its steps, and on their taking up a strong 
position in the Plauen Grund, one of these corps broke 
into Bohemia, and took ample revenge for the numerous 
acts of violence committed by both Austrians and Rus- 
sians in their march. A second corps was dispatched, 
under General Fink, towards Maxen, in order to cut off 
Daun's retreat, or at least embarrass it. But this was a 
highly dangerous experiment. Fink remonstrated with 
Frederick on the difficulties of the enterprise, but the 
latter merely replied, " You know that I cannot endure 
the idea of difficulties. See that you set out." Fink sur- 
rendered himself to his fate ; he saw himself surrounded by 
overpowering numbers, and after having in vain striven, 
on the 21st of J^ovember, by a bold movement to escape 
from his perilous position, was forced to surrender, and 
the whole corps, 12,000 strong, were made prisoners of war. 
This sudden disaster was speedily succeeded by a second. 
A Prussian corps, under General Dierecke, stationed on 
the opposite bank of the Elbe, was similarly captured by 
the Austrians. Dierecke made an effort, under cover of 
night, to fall back across the stream ; the attempt was one 
of extraordinary peril, and in a great measure impractic- 
able, as the ice which covered the river's surface was in 
motion, and, as might be expected, but a very small 
remnant of the Prussians succeeded in effecting this 
crossing. The rest, to the amount of 1500, fell into the 
hands of the enemy. 



32Q FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

Towards the close of the year matters had likewise as- 
sumed a very gloomy complexion in Saxony. Daun no 
longer felt any inclination to retire on Bohemia, and 
Frederick's army had been, through these repeated dis- 
asters, reduced to little more than 24,000 fighting men. 
Xothing could be now more natural than to suppose that 
he would be soon compelled to disgorge the fruits of his 
former successes. But Frederick did not retire one pace. 
He remained face to face with the foe in his small en- 
campment near Wilsdruflf, despite tlie desperate cold 
season that had just then set in. Four battalions of his 
army were alternately lodged in this encampment, the 
tents of which were frozen as stiff as boards. The soldiers 
lay within their tents stretched on each other to keep them- 
selves warm, as the cold was most intense. The rest of 
the army was lodged in the surrounding villages. Here 
the officers sought refuge from the inclemency of the 
season in the different rooms and chambers, and the men 
lit large fires, in front of which they lay day and night. 
This extreme severity of the weather carried off a great 
number of victims, but at the same time prevented the 
enemy from attempting any onward movement. Dami 
thus saw himself necessitated to expose his troops to the 
same inconveniences and sufferings as his adversaries, 
without being able to gain anything whatever thereby. 
At length a reinforcement for Frederick's army arrived, 
under the conduct of the Prince of Brunswick. Now for 
the first time, it being January, were the troops allowed 
to take up regular winter- quarters. Freiberg was selected 
by Frederick for his head- quarters, and he here passed 
the remaining winter months. 

Thus at length terminated a campaign which was pro- 
ductive of more disasters to the Prussian arms than any 
preceding one ; and yet Frederick had not virtually lost 
any part of the territory which he had previously held, 
with the exception of Dresden, and a small section of the 
surrounding country, together with some inconsiderable 



CAJIPAIGN OF 1759. CUNNER»DORF. 831 

poft»e»sions in Pomerania, which had been invests by the 
Swedes on the departure of the Prussian troops from that 
neighborhood. The combined exertions of his over- 
whelming enemies had not been productive of more 
important results. 

21 



322 FREDERICK THE GREAT, 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1760. DRESDEN AND 

LIEGNITZ. 

By dint of the most extraordinary exertions, Frederick 
had for the last four years been able to oppose the over- 
powering combinations of his enemies with the insignifi- 
cant resources at his command. But he felt that the con- 
tinuance of such a war, even though unattended by the 
unusually disastrous catastrophes of the late year, must 
eventually exhaust his utmost resources, and that the 
angry waves must sooner or later break over and engulf 
the fragile bark of which he Avas the pilot. Frederick 
but too clearly saw this to be the real state of things, and 
consequently neglected no means of allaying the Avild 
storm, or at least giving it another direction. The King 
of Spain had died during the past year — Austria had 
claims upon the Spanish succession in Italy — these were 
contested by Sardinia. Frederick sent an ambassador to 
Turin and a second to Madrid to incite both courts to war. 
His suggestions met however, with no very favorable re- 
ception, and Maria Theresa allowed her Italian claims to 
remain in abeyance for the present, apprehensive lest their 
prosecution might interfere with the regaining of Silesia, 
on the recovery of which she had so completely set her 
heart as to consider all other objects but secondary to it. 
His efforts to bring about a peace with France proved 
equally fruitless. The war and the extravagance of the 
French court had wrought the most indescribable con- 
fusion in the French exchequer, which was almost entirely 



CAMPAIGN OF 1760. DRESDEN AND LIEGNITZ. 323 

exhausted, and the court of Versailles seemed not alto- 
gether disinclined to listen to the pacific overtures of Eng- 
land ; but on the latter power's declaring the integrity of 
Prussia to be an essential condition of any treaty of peace, 
all further negotiations were immediately suspended. 
The mistress of the French king, in retaliation for the 
contempt which she always experienced from Frederick, 
trifled with the fortunes and fate of the French people, 
and replied to every warning in wild self-confidence, 
challenging, as it were, that awful destiny which sub- 
sequently broke over France with these words : " After 
us — the flood ! " Instead of the peace, so ardently de- 
sired by Frederick, a hostile alliance between France, 
Austria, and Russia, or, to speak more properly, for the 
interests of the nations were little consulted, an alliance 
between Pompadour, Maria Theresa, and Elizabeth was 
concluded. 

Frederick had now no hope left him other than such 
as he derived from English aid, from the superiority of 
his own mind, the dauntless courage which animated his 
army, and the one circumstance, that the enterprises of 
his opponents had not been hitherto marked by any great 
spirit of cordiality or unity. He had now recourse to 
every possible expedient to render his ebbing resources 
available to the utmost, and the proceeds Avere employed 
in equipping and reinforcing his army anew. Naturallj^ 
disinclined to burthen his own subjects with additional 
taxes, as they had already suffered very sensibly from 
the effects of the war, he compelled Saxony, Mecklenburg, 
and the principalities of Anhalt to contribute extraordinary 
supplies, and consequently those unhappy lands were 
forced to furnish very large contingents. Numerous as 
were the recruits which were thus obtained, as well as 
those drawn from his own dominions, yet thej^ fell far 
short of filling .up the chasms created in the ranks by the 
havoc of the last year's sanguinary campaign. A formal 
system of recruiting for the Prussian army was extended 
over the whole of Germany, and the Austrian prisoners 



324 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

of vrar were obliged to swear to the Prussian colors. 
Notwithstanding all this, on the opening of the campaign 
Frederick had hardly 90,000 effective men ; whereas his 
enemies opposed him with forces exceeding 200,000. It 
must be likewise remarked that his present troops bore 
no similarity to those with whom he had commenced the 
war. Mere youths, who had never seen the face of an 
enemy, and had been drawn from the interior of the 
country, with others who had been enlisted abroad, did 
not warrant much reliance being placed upon them. He 
succeeded, however, in awakening a spirit of national en- 
thusiasm, and the strict military discipline of the Prussian 
service, added to the peculiar eclat still attached to the 
Prussian arms, as well as the glorious renown of the great 
king its leader, were not without their influence on the 
efficiency of these raw levies. 

In the midst of these weighty cares, science and art, 
which had ever proved his solace in the hour of trouble, 
were not neglected. In them, and their soothing in- 
fluences, he sought to forget the mental torture to which 
the anxieties of his critical position gave birth. In poeti- 
cal composition he found a vent for the emotions of his 
surcharged heart, and the feelings breathed forth in his 
poems of this period cannot fail, even to this day, to 
awaken in the reader sympathies of the warmest and most 
lively character. An " Ode to the Germans," written by 
him in March, 1760, is peculiarly curious. He here 
sharply rebukes the folly of the various German tribes, 
" children of one common parent," in persisting in the re- 
ciprocal slaughter of one another ; in courting the aid of 
strangers for the purposes of bloodshed, and thus opening 
to them a passage into the heart of their native country. 
He points to the path where honorable fame may be ac- 
quired ; and in conclusion, exhorts the Prussian people 
especially to perseverance and resolution. About this 
period a new and complete edition of his former poems 
was published by his authority, in consequence of a 
pirated edition having appeared in France, in which the 



CAMPAIGN OF 1760. DRESDEN AND LIEGNITZ. 323 

various satirical sallies, which had been intended by him 
to meet the eyes of but a few trusty friends, had been 
invidiously applied to different political personages of the 
day, for the purpose of awakening the worst passions. 
There appears to be sufficient evidence to show that this 
pirated edition had been set on foot by Voltaire, who 
thereby hoped to inflame still further the animosities of 
Frederick's enemies, and thus gratify his own still un- 
satiated, paltry thirst for vengeance. 

Feelings similar to those evinced in his poems of this 
period are likewise to be found in his correspondence 
with his friends ; in these letters he describes his situa- 
tion, and gives expression to his thoughts without the 
slightest dissimulation or reserve. In March, 1760, he 
wrote to Algerotti, whom he numbered amongst his most 
intimate friends, pretty nearly as follows : — " The Wan- 
dering Jew, if he have ever existed, never led so wander- 
ing a life as I do. I shall soon become like those village 
players, who have neither home nor fatherland. We run 
through the world to perform our bloody tragedies as 
often as our enemies permit us ; we erect our theatre 

The last campaign has reduced Saxony to the 

verge of destruction : as long as fate permitted I spared 
that lovely land ; but desolation is now abroad every- 
where ; and not to speak of the moral evils caused by this 
war, the physical ones are by no means less ; and we may 
consider ourselves peculiarly fortunate, if pestilence does 
not follow in its wake. We, poor fools, who have but a 
moment to live, render that brief space as mutually dis- 
tressing as we can, and find pleasure in the destruction 
of every masterpiece which time and labor have produced, 
leaving behind us nothing but so many hateful memorials 
of the havoc, desolation, and misery which we have wit- 
tingly occasioned ! " 

The time for active operations was now fast approach- 
ing. Frederick found himself again constrained to 
maintain the defensive, his forces being by no means 
adequate to the exigencies of an offensive war. A con- 



326 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

siderable period, however, elapsed before the enemy 
attempted any decisive movement. They could not agree 
on the plan according to which the campaign was to be 
opened. The Russian cabinet, acting upon the advice of 
Soltikoflf, proposed that it should commence with the 
capture of Kolberg, and then, unde.r the protection of the 
fleet, which it had agreed to furnish, to extend the war 
along the Pomeranian coast. This plan was altogether 
in accordance with the interests of Russia, and Soltikoff 
thought thereby to get rid of the disagreeable presence of 
the Austrians. These propositions were also in a great 
measure supported by France. The King of Poland, 
however, becoming clamorous in his entreaties that his 
principality might be restored to him, Maria Theresa pro- 
posed that Soltikoff should, m conjunction with Loudon, 
endeavor to effect the conquest of Silesia, whilst Daun 
kept Frederick's army employed in Saxony. This latter 
plan was eventually adopted ; and Soltikoflt, w^lio con- 
sidered himself slighted by the rejection of his counsels, 
felt no little annoyance at being still compelled to endure 
the presence of the Austrian troops. 

The Prussian dispositions were as follows. Daun's 
army was opposed in Saxony by Frederick in person; 
Prince Henry commanded a corps on the Oder, which 
was to check the advance of the Russians; General 
Fouque covered the frontiers of Silesia on the Bohemian 
side ; and a small corps was stationed in Pomerania to 
oppose the Swedes. 

The prelude and opening of the contest was reserved 
for Silesia. As early as the month of March, Loudon 
made a incursion upon L^pper Silesia, which was pro- 
tected by but few troops. General Golz, who commanded 
a Pomeranian regiment of infantry on the frontier, was 
forced to fall back upon Neisse; but the regiment had 
hardly got itself in motion, and joined a convoy, con- 
sisting of a hundred waggons, when Loudon's cavalry 
dashed in amongst its ranks, and despite the most gal- 
lant resistance, the whole was thrown into the most 



CAMPAIGN OF 1760. DRESDEN AND LIEGNITZ. 327 

irretrievable disorder. Loudon dispatched a trumpeter 
forthwith to General Golz, requiring an unconditional sur- 
render, as the regiment was completely hemmed in on all 
sides, and accompanied his message with the threat that, 
in the event of refusal, the whole should be massacred. 
The general conducted the trumpeter along his lines, at 
the same time informing his troops of the demand. A 
rather uncourteous Pomeranian reply re-echoed on all 
sides from the men, and the Austrian charges were re- 
commenced with renewed impetuosity, and with equal 
resolution repulsed. The regiment eventually succeeded 
in reaching a secure position, having lost but a hundred 
and forty men, whilst the losses of the Austrians 
amounted to three hundred. Loudon himself could not 
refuse the tribute of his admiration to the gallantry of 
the brave Pomeranians. 

More serious designs were in preparation. Loudon 
advanced, some months later, towards Bohemia, and pene- 
trated, at the head of about 80,000 men, as far as the pro- 
vince of Glatz, and from thence into Silesia, where Fouque 
was stationed on the border, with about 14,000 men. As 
the forces at the disposal of the latter were unequal to the 
task of maintaining his position, and in hope of being 
able to contend in the open country with more success 
against the superior numbers of his adversary, Fouque 
withdrew his army from the hills, and sought shelter 
beneath the cannons of Schweidnitz. Loudon had antici- 
pated this movement, and took advantage of it to open 
the siege of the fortress of Glatz, Avith a view to obtain 
a firm footing in Silesia. Frederick was highly incensed 
at all this : he w^^ote an angry letter to his old friend, the 
grand master of the order of Bayard, instituted during 
the happy days of Rheinsberg, and still in existence, using 
the harsh expressions, " the devil thank you for leaving 
my hills. Regain me my hills, let it cost what it may." 
Upon receipt of this, Fouque returned to his former 
position resolved to maintain it to the last man, and to 
sell the hills with his blood. It was, however, far from 



328 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

Frederick's intention thus to sacrifice his faithful general, 
and he only wished that Fouque should retard the motions 
of the enemy until he himself could arrive with an army 
for his relief. To effect this object was, however, by no 
means easy, unless by the exposure of Saxony to the 
incursions of Daun's army. Frederick formed the bold 
design of inducing the Austrian field-marshal, by means 
of artificial manoeuvres, to follow him to Silesia. Similar 
experiments had been frequently employed by him with 
success already ; in the present instance Daun occupied a 
strongly entrenched position near Dresden, which Fred- 
erick had failed to induce him to relinquish. Several days 
had passed without any object being attained, when sud- 
denly, on the 25th of June, loud firing in the Austrian 
camp announced some extraordinary success. From 
the hostile piquets Frederick received information of Lou- 
don's victory over Fouque. The latter had kept to his 
determination. He had been attacked by Loudon on the 
23d of June with overwhelming numbers near Landshut, 
and almost the whole of his corps had perished. Fouque 
himself after receiving several wounds, had fallen from 
his horse, and was only saved by his groom, who had 
thrown himself over the body of his master, and thus 
warded off the blows dealt out by the enemy's dragoons : 
he was taken prisoner, and remained in the enemy's cus- 
tody until the close of the war. The industrious town of 
Landshut was severely dealt with by the soldiers of the 
imperial army. The men got intoxicated, and even Lou- 
don himself could hardly restrain the unbridled license 
and rapacity of those under his command. 

It appears that the intelligence of Fouque's defeat, in- 
stead of exciting consternation in Frederick's mind, but 
strengthened his desire to execute some extraordinary 
achievement, — one which, from its novelty and daring, 
should baffle all tlie calculations of his enemies, and con- 
found their concerted measures. Nothing seemed better 
calculated to answer the purposes of a coup of this kind, 
than a direct attempt on Dresden itself. To this end he 



CAMPAIGN OF 1760. DRESDEN AND LIEGNITZ. 329 

repeated all his former manoeuvres with a view to draw 
Daun from his stronghold ; but in vain. Baffled in this 
attempt, he finally resolved on making a feint of retiring 
with his army straight for Silesia. This movement 
aroused Daun at length from his inactivity. He hastened 
to anticipate Frederick's motions, and after effecting a 
junction with Loudon's corps strove to interrupt Fred- 
erick's progress : the hostile armies met, and some cavalry 
regiments, who formed the Prussian van, led on by Fred- 
erick in person, became engaged with the rear -guard of 
the Austrians. Frederick had charged the enemy with- 
out waiting to be supported by his infantry. Perceiving, 
at length, that gallantry unsustained by numerical 
strength, Avas insufficient for making any solid impres- 
sion on the enemy, he was about to fall back upon his 
infantry, when, at the same instant, clouds of Ulanian 
horse dashed in amongst his squadrons and put them to 
flight. His own life was for some time in the most im- 
minent danger, for two Ulanians came charging down on 
him with their lances in the rests, and nothing but pres- 
ence of mind, on the part of his page, saved his life. The 
latter was thrown down, but called out in Polish to the 
horsemen, " Where the deuce are you rushing ? " The 
page, not wearing any military uniform, was supposed by 
them to be an Austrian. After pleading as their excuse 
that their horses had run away with them, they wheeled 
about and disappeared. A battalion of Prussian grena- 
diers now arriving, by their well-directed volleys put an 
end to the contest. 

As soon as Daun, according to Frederick's calculation, 
had advanced sufficiently far from Saxony, Frederick sud- 
denly wheeled round, and moved on Dresden. A corps 
of the Austrian army, which had been stationed in his 
rear, now retreated at his approach, crossing the Elbe 
near Dresden, and, joined by the whole of the army of 
the empire, which had hitherto remained in complete in 
activity, proceeded along the left bank of the Elbe, in the 
direction of Pirna. No greater obstacles now opposed 



830 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

Frederick's investment and reduction of the town than 
such as the garrison presented, the necessary battering 
ordnance having been rapidly procured from Magdeburg. 
He calculated on exciting the apprehensions of the King 
of Poland, and by the threat of laying this splendid capital 
in ruins, on being able to induce the commandant to 
consent to a speedy capitulation. The breaching bat- 
teries opened on the town on the 14th of July, and it was 
almost immediately afterwards regularly bombarded. 
Many of the finest palaces were battered down ; whole 
streets were wrapped in flames, and the position of the 
wretched inhabitants became frightful. Flying in crowds 
from the burning city, they left such treasures as they 
had saved from the flames in the bomb-proof cellars of the 
houses to be plundered by the licentious soldiers of the 
garrison. A few guns which stood on the turret of 
the Church of the Cross, and which were at times fired 
on festivals, were now employed against the besiegers ; 
the latter considering the church as a battery, directed 
their mortars against it, and this magnificent pile soon 
became one sea of flames. Several other churches met 
the same fate ; and the former splendor of this luxurious 
capital was almost completely annihilated. 

But the commandant still held out valiantly, and al- 
though the army of the empire did not deem it expedient 
to stir from its entrenched position, the commandant yet 
hoped for relief from Daun. The latter also displayed no 
very remarkable rapidity in his motions, being under the 
impression that Frederick's movement Avas a mere strata- 
gem to allure him into some trap. He at length reached 
Dresden, and the success of Frederick's enterprise became 
very doubtful, for Daun opened a communication with 
the besieged, in spite of all Frederick's exertions to pre- 
vent it. M'lny sorties now ensued, giving rise to several 
petty skirmishes, in which the Prussians were not al- 
ways successful. One obstinate sortie directed against 
the trenches forced the Bernburg regiment to retire. 
Frederick punished this want of resolution, for such he 



CAMPAIGN OF 1760. DRESDEN AND LIEGNITZ. 33I 

held it, with a degree of ingenious severity wholly un- 
paralleled in the annals of Prussian Avarfare. The mount- 
ings were stript from the officers' shakos, the facings 
from the men's uniform, and the tambours were forbidden 
to play the Grenadier march in future. This regiment, 
which had hitherto felt proud, from the fact of its having 
been organized under the superintendance of the veteran 
Prince of Dessau, became now the laughing-stock of the 
whole army. An opportunity, however, offered shortly 
after for wiping out this foul stain on its honor. 

The result of the siege became from day to day more 
problematical. A considerable convoy from Magdeburg, 
intended for the Prussian army, had fallen into the hands 
of the enemy. A hostile corps was advancing in the rear 
of the Prussians, and the sad intelligence soon arrived 
that Glatz had fallen. Frederick was consequently ob- 
liged to abandon, after so much vain exertion, the entire 
enterprise, and raise the siege. On the evening of the 
29th of July the Prussian army withdrew from Dresden. 
Glatz had been besieged by a special corps of Loudon's 
army, and had surrendered with such disgraceful precipi- 
tancy as to fully justify suspicions of treachery. But, 
notwithstanding this very considerable loss, Frederick 
did not abandon all hope of saving Silesia. His main ob- 
ject was now, if possible, to prevent a junction between 
the Austrian army and the Russians, the latter of which 
was now advancing on Silesia, and with a view to this he 
put his army immediately in motion. Daun broke up his 
camp simultaneously, and followed him like his shadow, 
without, however, interposing any considerable impedi- 
ments to his march or venturing on a battle. 

Loudon had meanwhile moved on Breslau, and was 
preparing to invest that toA\m. He was at the head of 
50,000 men, and the garrison consisted but of 3,000, two- 
thirds of these being troops on whom but little reliance 
could be placed. Besides this, there were 9,000 Austrian 
prisoners confined in the heart of the toAvn, and means 
had been even resorted to to tamper with the citizens. 



332 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

The royal lifeguards, consisting of about 1,000 men, who 
had been stationed in Breslau ever since the battle of 
Kollin, were the only troops on whom the commandant, 
General De Tauenzien, could rely ; notwithstanding 
which, he resolved on making as obstinate a defence as 
(Circumstances would permit. Loudon summoned him 
to surrender, but received a decisive answer in the 
negative. The bombardment now commenced, and one 
fourth of the town, including the royal palace, burst into 
flames. But Tauenzien exhibited equal courage and 
prudence in meeting every danger external or internal. 
On receiving a second summons to surrender, which con- 
cluded with the threat, that the child in the mother's 
womb should not be spared, he composedly replied, that 
neither he nor his men were ]3regnant. This consum- 
mate coolness was soon rewarded by relief from danger. 
Prince Henry, who had been hitherto engaged m watch- 
ing the motions of the Russians, now arriving in the 
neighborhood of the town, Loudon raised the siege ; and 
the Prince took up a position close to the walls. 

The Russians arrived almost immediately afterwards, 
and Soltikoff was not a little surprised at finding the 
Prussian army in front of him instead of the Austrian, 
as he firmly expected. Considering this as an additional 
ground for suspecting the sincerity of his allies, he felt 
fully confirmed in his opinion as to the little reliance 
that could be placed upon them. On receiving intelli- 
gence of Frederick's having entered Silesia, and of 
Loudon's advancing to meet the latter in order to sup- 
port Daun, he declared in the most decided terms that 
he should immediately retire, if Frederick were permitted 
to reach the Oder without the Russian army being 
strengthened by Loudon's corps. 

This solemn declaration induced Daun to relinquish 
his system of timid hesitation and engage the enemy. 
Both armies took up a position on the Katzbach, in the 
neighborhood of Liegmtz. It was the same ground 
which, from the period of the frightful Mongolian battle, 



CAMPAIGN OF 1760. DRESDEN AND LIEGNITZ. 333 

in the 13tli century, had repeatedly drunk streams of 
blood. Here, too, Frederick had won one of those splendid 
victories to which he so often owed his salvation. On this 
same plain, fifty-three years subsequently, a battle for the 
salvation of Prussia and Germany was likewise fought. 
Daun could now gratify his wish for an engagement with 
the more security, as Frederick's position was in truth 
very precarious. The Austrian army amounted, since its 
junction with Loudon, to 95,000 fighting men, whilst the 
Prussians numbered but 30,000, were short of provisions, 
and cut off from Breslau. Frederick's endeavors by means 
of manoeuvres to gain a more favorable position proved 
ineffectual. 

Daun strove to repeat the same game which he had 
played with success at Hochkirch — he intended that 
Frederick's camp should be stormed on all sides at break 
of day. His plan was kept perfectly secret ; but Fred- 
erick could, from several of the enemy's movements, fore- 
see that an attack was meditated. As his position above 
Liegnitz was not particularly strong, he resolved on 
drawing his army off to the other side of the town, 
where the nature of the ground promised to be more 
favorable ; his position here would also render the accom- 
plishment of his design for forcing a passage across the 
Oder more easy of execution. The night of the 14th was 
appointed for the execution of this movement. An officer 
who had deserted from the enemy was brought in during 
the afternoon, and spoke of important secrets which he 
had to communicate. He was, however, so intoxicated 
that it became necessary to have recourse to all possible 
artificial means to bring him to anything like rational 
consciousness. His statements confirmed the suspicion 
of the intended attack, but as he could give no intel- 
ligence of the details of the enemy's plans, Frederick did 
not countermand his previous orders. 

The change of position was effected under cover of 
night. It was now about three o'clock in the morning, 
and the whole of the troops who had for the most part 



334 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

slept under arms, during the brief interval allotted for re- 
pose, awaited the break of day with the utmost impatience. 
Frederick who had been busy on the left wing, having 
wrapped himself in his mantle and lain down beside a 
watch-fire, had just fallen asleep. A general was seated 
by his side, and stirred the fire. At this moment Major 
Hundt, of the hussars, who had been patroling to the left 
of the army, came riding up in full gallop, and inquired 
for the king. He was told not to disturb him as he was 
asleep ; but Frederick had heard the call, and on inquir- 
ing of the major the cause of his haste, was informed that 
the enemy's columns were in motion, and had already ad- 
vanced within four hundred paces. Frederick instantly 
issued orders for the men to get under arms, but suppos- 
ing that the attack on his position would not be confined 
to one point, he gave orders for General Zieten to advance 
with the right wing to meet the enemy, whilst he strove 
with the left to repulse the coming attack. The troops 
formed under the enemy's fire, but with precision and 
speed. Loudon had planned the attack on the Prussian 
left, but without having any idea that his opponents had 
shifted their ground. He had also calculated on being 
able by a sudden attack to get possession of the Prussian 
baggage, and in order to keep matters secret had pur- 
posely dispensed with an advanced guard ; his surprise, 
therefore, at the discovery he now made was extreme. 
Giving orders to his troops to form with all possible ex- 
pedition, he put them in order of battle as well as the 
unfavorable nature of the ground would permit. The 
thunder of the guns opened the fight. The Austrian 
cavalry charged the Prussians, but were repulsed. Some 
regiments of infantry then advanced. But the Prussians 
valiantly maintained their ground, the Austrians seeming 
to waver ; at the same instant the Prussian cavalry pene- 
trated into the enemy's lines, and made a great number of 
prisoners. Still Loudon was far superior to the king in 
numbers, having 35,000 men under his command, whilst 
the Prussian left wing did not exceed 14,000. Fresh 



CAMPAIGN OF ITGO. DRESDEN AND LIEGNITZ. 335 

troops kept perpetually arriving to reinforce the Aus- 
trians, but the Prussians valiantly repulsed every attack, 
notwithstanding that their ranks were every moment 
more and more thinned. Loudon's cavalry once more 
charged the Prussian infantry, but the latter gallantly 
withstood the charge. It was on this occasion that the 
Bernburg regiment regained its lost honors. Charging 
the Austrian cavalry with fixed bayonets, it flung many of 
the riders from their horses, and drove the others before 
them in wild confusion, until at length not a single 
Austrian regiment retained its position. At six o'clock 
the Prussians were undisputed victors on that well- fought 
field. 

Frederick now hastened to the right wing of his army, 
which had been partially attacked. Daun, on arriving at 
the point where the Prussian camp had stood on the 
previous evening, and finding the ground deserted, deter- 
mined on following the fugitives, conceiving that the 
Prussians must have fled. To effect this, he was obliged 
to cross the marshy Schwartzwasser, which discharges 
itself near Liegnitz into the Katzbach, and which sheltered 
the Prussian position on this side : there was but a single 
bridge over this river, and Zieten, as soon as just so 
many of the Austrians had crossed it as he could master 
with ease, opened a hot fire from the guns upon them ; 
when they fled in all directions, and he took an immense 
number prisoners. Some attempts of the enemy's artil- 
lery were soon silenced by the Prussian guns, as the 
latter occupied a very favorable position. Daun now 
paused, undecided how to act. He had received no in- 
telligence from Loudon, and the wind had carried the 
whole noise of the fight in the contrary direction. At 
length he heard several rounds of musketry announcing 
victory, and he soon guessed what it meant. The Prus- 
sians had scarcely fired the second round, when the en- 
emy wheeled, crossed the Katzbach, and at break of day 
departed. 

This victory was obtained without any great sacrifices. 



336 FSEDERICK the GREAl^. 

The whole losses of the Prussians amounted to 3500 men ; 
the Austrians had, on the other hand, lost 10,000 men, 
together with 82 guns, and 23 colors and standards. A 
special mark of distinction was reserved for the Bernburg 
regiment. As soon as the battle was over, the king or- 
dered the whole army to form in one line ; in front of 
which he rode from one end to the other, to see the gaps 
which the battle had made. The whole army stood at 
ease ; the Bernburg regiment was stationed at the head 
of the right wing. As soon as Frederick approached it, 
he called out gaily to the soldiers, " Children, I thank 
you; you have done your duty bravely, right bravely; 
you shall have everything back." The fugleman of the 
regiment, an old veteran, advanced from the ranks, and 
addressing the king, said, " I thank your majesty, in the 
name of my comrades, for giving us back our rights. 
Your majesty is once more a gracious king." Frederick 
clapped the soldier on the back, and replied, with tears 
in his eyes, " Everything is forgiven and everything for- 
gotten except this day." The review now terminated, 
and Frederick directed that the old fugleman who had 
just spoken should be made a sergeant: the latter re- 
turned thanks, and several soldiers of the regiment 
crowded round the king, and defended their conduct at 
Dresden, saying, that the fault was not in them, but in 
those who led them. Frederick would not grant this, 
exactly ; and the soldiers commenced advocating their 
views with a degree of warmth, confidence, and famil- 
iarity, that so surprised the commander, that he, fearing 
Frederick's displeasure, ordered them to disperse. This 
Frederick would not permit, but terminated the dispute 
by assuring them once more that they were brave fellows, 
and an honor to the Prussian army. Frederick's influence 
over the hearts of the soldiers was mainly attributable to 
the familiarity with which he entered into all their feel- 
ings, and often took part in their disputes. The anec- 
dotes told of him are peculiarly rich in details of this 
kind. The consequence was that his soldiers generally 



CiJyiPAIGN OP 1760. DRESDEN AND LIEQNITZ. 337 

addressed him merely by the name of " Fritz," or the pet 
name of "old Fritz." 

The victory of Liegnitz was the first beam of good fortune 
which had for a long time shone upon the Prussian arms. 
But except inspiring the army with moral confidence in 
itself, little else would have been really gained, had the 
enemy, taking advantage of their strength, endeavored to 
oppose Frederick's march anew. Experience should have 
taught him, that Frederick never did anything by halves ; 
and in the present instance he was equally quick in tak- 
ing advantage of the enemy's confusion. That very day 
his army advanced upwards of fifteen miles, and in a 
short time he effected a junction with Prince Henry at 
Breslau. Daun retired cautiously to the hills on the 
Bohemian frontiers. Soltikoff followed the example of 
his ally, and proceeded with his army to the frontiers of 
Poland. The great plan for the junction of these two 
powerful armies had been paralyzed. 
22 



338 - FREDERICK THE GREAT. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

CONCLUSION OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1760. TORGAU. 

New plans for eflfective co-operation were now dis- 
cussed by the Austrian and Russian leaders, and a new 
system of warfare finally agreed on between the parties. 
But these deliberations were considerably protracted both 
by mutual distrust and the severe illness of the Russian 
general. It was, at length, after much previous discus- 
sion, arranged, that the Russians should make an incur- 
sion on Mark Brandenburg, whilst the Austrians took 
active measures in Silesia; and thus, by dividing the 
Prussian powers of resistance, easily destroy in detail each 
individual corps. Daun was strongly in favor of pro- 
ceeding to an immediate mvestment of Schweidnitz, and 
Frederick, not apprehending any very great dispatch 
on the part of the Russians, resolved on turning his 
undivided strength against Daun who was, however, 
almost double his number, and force him to evacuate 
Silesia. In truth, his manoeu^rres were directed with 
such tact, that Daun was obliged, not^vithstanding his 
great numerical superiority, to abandon his enterprise, 
and confine himself to mere defensive operations. Daun 
took up, on the other hand, such admirable positions on 
the heights, that Frederick could not succeed in entirely 
expelling him from the land, and a considerable period 
thus elapsed \vithout any decisive result being attained ; 
but as soon as intelligence arrived that the Russians were 
marching on Berlin, and that a special Austrian corps, 
under General Lacy, had been like\vise dispatched in the 



CAMPAIGN OF 1760. TORGAU. 339 

same direction, Frederick saw himself obliged to re- 
linquish all opposition to the Austrian main army, and 
hasten to the relief of his capital. On the 6th of October 
he set out with his army for Berlin. 

His march was not attended with any special circum- 
stances of danger, but many characteristic traits of the 
peculiarly familiar and friendly intercourse existing be- 
tween the monarch and his men, elicited during this 
march, have been preserved to us. 

As the army was once halting in front of a morass, on 
the frontiers of Lusatia, awaiting the erection of a vehicle 
which was necessary for the transport of the heavy pieces 
of ordnance, the following incident occurred. It was a 
cold misty morning in autumn ; firewood was quickly col- 
lected — fires lighted — and the soldiers lay down in front 
of them. Beside one of these fires stood Frederick, lean- 
ing against a tree. Zieten happened to come to the same 
fire, sat down on a block of wood, and being overpowered 
by the march, fell asleep ; a grenadier placed a bundle of 
sticks under the general's head, an act which Frederick 
observed with pleasure. An officer soon arrived with 
dispatches for the king, and advancing towards Zieten, 
was about to awaken him, when the king whispered him 
softly, " Don't disturb my Zieten, he is tired." One of 
the soldiers' wives, sometime afterwards, not aware of the 
king's presence, placed a pot with potatoes on the fire, 
and kneeling down blew it with such violence that the 
sparks flew into the king's face. The latter said nothing, 
but drew his mantle a little in front. A soldier who was 
passing by recognized the king, and informed the woman 
of his presence. Upon being made aware of the fact, she 
seized the cooking apparatus in the utmost horror and ran 
oflf in the greatest dismay. Frederick ordered her to be 
brought back, and to replace the potatoes upon the fire. 
The soldiers were highly delighted with this considerate 
condescension of their king. 

During the march Frederick frequently called out to 
his troops, when they happened from weariness or any 



340 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

other cause to relax their military precision, Exact, chil- 
dren, " exact ! " They frequently replied, " Exactly^ Fritz ! " 
Such rejoinders were never taken amiss by the king ; but, 
in return, his troops followed him with the most entire 
devotion. His invariable morning salutation was, "Good 
morning, children ! " which was invariably responded to 
with, " Good day, Fritz ! " 

Towards the close of the march a female hussar, who 
had taken part in all the campaigns of the army, dis- 
mounted, and entering a barn gave birth to a boy. Im- 
mediately afterwards she remounted, and advancing to 
the king presented him with the child, and informed him 
that she had just given birth to a little Fritz. " Has the 
child been baptized ? " inquired the king. " No," replied 
the mother, " but he shall be called Fritz ! " " Well," re- 
plied the king, " take care of him, and as soon as peace 
comes I'll provide for him." 

Frederick was perhaps justified in thinking that the 
incursion of the Russians would not be executed with 
extraordinary dispatch or resolution, inasmuch as previous 
to his departure from Silesia a similar attempt, which had 
been ushered in with extraordinary preparations, had 
been defeated with the greatest ease. It was a principal 
aim with the Russians to obtain a firm footing in Pomer- 
ania, and with a view to this a powerful Russian fleet ap- 
peared, towards the close of August, in front of Kolberg, 
and commenced a blockade of the fortress. The garrison 
of Kolberg was very feeble, but the commandant. Colonel 
De Heide, succeeded in repulsing every assault and in 
throwing up such excellent defences, that several weeks 
passed without the enemy making any considerable pro- 
gress. A small Swedish fleet also arrived, in order to co- 
operate with the Russians ; but the relief which the har- 
assed besieged had so long desired suddenly appeared : a 
small Prussian corps marched with such rapidity from 
Silesia, that they seemed to have sprung out of the earth. 
The advanced-guard of this corps, consisting of three 
l;undred hussars, flung themselves with such impetuosity 



CAMPAIGN OF 1760. TORGAU. 341 

on the hostile infantry, that, being mistaken for the 
main body of the Prussian army, the enemy fled to their 
ships, leaving a great number of prisoners and slain behind 
them. The Swedish fleet put to sea at the first onslaught 
of the Prussian hussars, as if the latter possessed the 
power of being able to pursue them even by water. On 
the 23d of September the Russian fleet set sail. The Prus- 
sian corps was then dispatched to Swedish Pomerania to 
hold the enemy in check in that quarter. 

But the hopes which Frederick had gathered from this 
event were illusory. He had scarcely arrived, on the 15th 
of October, on the frontier of Mark Brandenburg, when he 
learned that his splendid capital had already fallen into 
the hands of the enemy. After many deliberations be- 
tween the Austrians and Russians, the latter had thrown 
themselves on Mark Brandenburg, and the Russian ad- 
vanced-guard, under General Tottleben, had reached 
Berlin on the 3d of October. The feeble garrison had at 
first offered the most determined resistance, and some of 
the first generals of the Prussian army, who were stopping 
there to recover from the effects of their wounds, (Seidlitz 
especially,) particularly distinguished themselves by their 
activity and valor. Some Prussian troops were speedily 
procured from the surrounding districts, and the resist- 
ance offered now became considerable. But as the corps 
under General Tottleben was soon considerably reinforced, 
and as the Austrian corps under General Lacy had already 
arrived in front of Berlin, the Prussian troops were obliged 
to retire, to avoid exposing the town to the dangers of a 
storm. The court had long since taken up its residence 
at Magdeburg. The garrison capitulated, and Tottleben 
entered Berlin on the 9th of October, But the fate which 
Berlin met was not by any means so hard as was gener- 
ally the case with such towns as had become exposed to 
the barbarities of the Russians. The Russian general 
exacted, no doubt, a very considerable contribution, but 
the strictest discipline was preserved. The Austrians, 
whom Tottleben would have gladly excluded altogether 



342 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

from Berlin, were the only persons who committed any 
considerable excesses. The loss in Prussian ammunition, 
which Avas partly carried off and partly destroyed, was 
very great. The contribution in money amounted to two 
millions of thalers ; which was subsequently paid off by 
Frederick out of his private purse, but with the greatest 
privacy, so that no burthen accrued therefrom to the 
nation. A worthy citizen of Berlin, Gotzkowsky, a mer- 
chant, made himself on this occasion peculiarly conspic- 
uous by his many acts of disinterested kindness. Pots- 
dam, especially Sans-souci, met with very considerate 
treatment. Prince Esterhazy, the Austrian general in 
command, paid particular attention to the security of the 
royal private property, and took away but one picture from 
the palace, as a memorial of the capture. But the violence 
and barbarities perpetrated by the enemy in the other 
toAvns and villages round Berlin were most atrocious. 
Charlottenburg, especially, met a sad fate. Everything 
in the palace of the king was destroj^ed — the furniture 
and vases broken to atoms — the hangings torn — the 
pictures cut and disfigured — the chapel plundered — and 
the fine organ which stood m it broken. The principal 
fury of the soldiery seemed directed against the valuable 
antiques which Frederick had purchased from the heirs 
of Cardinal Polignac, and which had been employed in 
the decoration of this palace and garden. The statues 
and busts were mutilated, and their future repair totally 
prevented. And these barbarities were not wrought 
by uncivilized Asiatic hordes, but by the Saxon regi- 
ments, who had been made prisoners at Pirna, subsequent- 
ly deserted to the eneiny, and in this unworthy manner 
gratified their hatred of the Prussian king. 

But this hostile occupation of the Prussian capital was 
but of short duration. Xews soon arrived that Fred- 
erick was approaching to its relief, and the mere announce- 
ment — " The king is coming ! " dissipated, like the blast 
of a whirlwind, the hosts of his enemies. On the 12th a 
precipitate evacuation ensued ; the Russians repassed 



CAMPAIGN OF 1760. TORGAU. 343 

the Oder ; General Lacy proceeded in the direction of 
Saxony, and Daun, who had followed Frederick from 
Silesia, likewise entered the Saxon territories. Frederick 
received the announcement of the enemy's retreat almost 
contemporaneously with that of their occupation. lie 
conceived it now unnecessary to advance further at 
present in Mark Brandenburg, and decided on setting out 
for Saxony, where his presence became once more im- 
peratively necessary. After having made such fiscal dis- 
positions as would in some measure compensate the in- 
habitants of Mark for the great losses they had sustained, 
he set out once more, in the hope of coming to some 
decisive engagement. 

Perhaps the most brilliant proof of his military great- 
ness is to be found in the fact that his mere name was 
sufficient to scatter the hosts of his enemies. But the 
danger was as yet by no means over. On the contrary, 
as matters at present stood, he had reason to apprehend 
the worst. The whole of Saxony was at this moment in 
the hands of his enemies. On Frederick's departure from 
Dresden he had left but a small corps behind him to 
oppose the motions of the army of the empire. At first 
this corps had been very successful, but the army of 
the empire had subsequently made some progress, and the 
Prussian corps having been called away to the relief of 
Berlin, the enemy met with no further resistance, and 
accordingly took military possession of the whole of 
Saxony. All the fortified towns fell into their hands, and 
if Daun had succeeded in shutting Frederick up in 
Saxony, Mark Brandenburg would have been once more 
exposed to the incursions of the Russians, who only 
awaited intelligence of this event to march and take up 
their winter- quarters in Mark. Frederick recognized 
the greatness of the danger which impended, but the 
thousand perils through which he had already passed 
steeled his resolution. He was prepared to meet the 
worst. In a letter to D'Argens he says " I shall never see 
the day that will force me to conclude a disastrous peace. 



34:4 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

No reasoning, no eloquence shall ever prevail on me 
to put my name to my own dishonor. I will either be 
buried beneath the ruins of my native land, or if fate, 
which persecutes me, deny me this boon, I will put an 
end to that existence which I am not able any longer to 
endure. I have always acted in accordance with my own 
internal convictions, and that honorable feeling shall 
still guide my steps and be my constant rule of action — 
my acts have ever been in accordance with my principles. 
After having sacrificed my youth to my father, and my 
manhood to my fatherland, I feel entitled to dispose as I 
please of my old age. I have already told you, and repeat 
it once more, that my hand shall never sign a disgraceful 
treaty of peace. I am firmly resolved to attempt the 
utmost in this campaign ; to dare desperate things ; to 
conquer, or meet an honorable death ! " 

Fortune smiled on his first exertions. Wittenberg and 
Leipzig were recaptured by the Prussian troops. The 
army of the empire retired towards Thuringia, without 
having effected a junction with the Austrians. Daun 
pitched his camp in the neighborhood of Torgau, and 
matters seemed likely to come here to a decisive issue. 

Daun's army numbered upwards of 64,000 men. The 
position which he occupied upon the heights of Torgau 
was almost identical with that of the Russians at Cun- 
nersdorf ; his camp was protected in front by a precipi- 
tous steep, streams, and marches ; its rear fortified by a 
strong abattis. Frederick's army amounted to 44,000 
men. The nature of the ground rendered it desirable for 
him to deploy his chief forces, so as to be able to attack 
the enemy in the rear, whilst a special corps, under 
Zieten's command, was to charge them in front, and as 
soon as Frederick had engaged them to assail them in 
the flank and complete their destruction. 

On the 3d of November, at early dawn, Frederick put 
his men in motion. His army penetrated the wood in 
three columns. An Austrian regiment, which had been 
stationed as an outpost in the wood, got between the two 



CAMPAIGN OF 1730. TORGAU. 345 

first columns of the Prussian army, and was almost 
entirely captured. It became, however, necessary, in 
order to arrive at the desired point, to proceed to a 
distance of several miles, and it was already past noon 
before Frederick reached the outskirts of the wood, and 
found Iiimself in front of the enemy's position. A can- 
nonade was now heard on the opposite side, which appear- 
ed to grow more violent every minute. Zieten had met an 
advanced post of the Austrian army, which checked his 
further approach, and he found it necessary to bring up 
cannon. Frederick taking this as a sign of a general 
engagement, determined on immediate attack, although 
his whole army had not yet arrived, and the cavalry was 
for the most part still in the wood. It v/as two o'clock 
before his first regiments advanced against the enemy. 
Daun, wlio had been previously informed of Frederick's 
motions, had taken the necessary measures to defeat 
them. A raking fire swept down the Prussian grena- 
diers, wlio fell in lines. A part of the Prussian army 
was obliged to march on the skirts of the wood, but the 
enemy's cannon penetrated even thither. The trees fell 
shattered on all sides, crushing all beneath them. A 
huge oak bough gave way immediately above the king's 
head, killing two men in front of him. The king was 
obliged to dismount, and lead his troops on foot into the 
plain. The first attack was fruitless. Two-thirds of the 
battalions of grenadiers lay prostrated on the ground, 
and th3 remainder were obliged to retire. Fresh troops 
had been in the meantime brought up, and pushed on up 
the heights. The thunder of the guns, which made the 
earth quake, pealed out anew, and the dense clouds that 
hitherto had enwrapt the heavens, seemed driven away 
by their fire. " Have you ever," said Frederick, turning 
to an aide-de-camp, "heard a fiercer cannonade? At 
least, I never have." The Prussians were again swept 
down in bodies, but the survivors marched undaunted 
forward, crossed the chevaux-de-frise, gamed the heights, 
and there manfully withstood the most impetuous assaults 



346 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

of the Austrians, until the lines on both sides were much 
thinned, when the Austrian cavalry broke in upon the 
Prussians and drove them once more down the steeps. 

A third attempt was now made. The Prussian cavalry- 
had at length reached the scene of action and charged 
the Austrian lines with impetuosity : both armies were 
now in the centre of a hot fire, success and disaster shifted 
from side to side, and Frederick fairly shared all the toils 
of his troops. Two horses had been already shot under 
him, when a ball struck him in the breast, and he sank to 
the earth without a groan. On being su]Dported by his 
aide-de-camp who tore the cloth from his breast, he was 
relieved by the discovery that the wound was not danger- 
ous, as the ball had been retarded by a fur dress which 
the king wore. Recovering his senses, he said, " 'Tis not 
serious ! " and remounting his horse, gave fresh orders 
for the battle ; but the Austrian cavalry pressed forward 
once more, and the Prussians were again compelled to 
retire. Night now came on and put an end to the contest : 
the Prussian army withdrew from the field of battle and 
took up another position, awaiting the events of the 
coming day. Frederick proceeded to a neighboring vil- 
lage ; where all the houses being full of the wounded, he 
took up his quarters for the night in the church : he here 
had his Avounds dressed, and distributed the necessary 
orders for the disposition of his army. " The enemy," he 
remarked, " have not suffered less than we, and as Zieten 
is in their rear, they will not venture to remain in their 
present position, so that after all the battle is won. But 
the officers round him, many of whom were wounded, 
could not console themselves so easily, and several hours 
passed in painful silence. It was just nine o'clock when 
the joyous intelligence arrived, that Zieten had opened 
the battle at a late period and had conquered. The awful 
silence that had hitherto prevailed was now changed into 
loud shouts of joy and thankfulness. Frederick mount- 
hig the steps of the altar, penned some dispatches, issued 



CAMPAIGN OF 1760. TORGAU. 347 

fresh orders, and laying himself doAvn on the straw litter 
which had been prepared for him, slept. 

Zieten, after pushing in the outposts of the Austrians, 
had remained inactive, in obedience to the order of the 
king, till towards evening ; when, feeling convinced that 
Frederick's exertions had proved unsuccessful, he pre- 
pared for an attack. In front of him lay a village which 
was in the hands of the enemy ; he stormed it and drove 
the enemy out, but the latter set the village on fire to 
prevent the pursuit ; this sheet of fire was the torch which 
lit him to further deeds, as night was approaching : perceiv- 
ing that the Austrian army on the heights had thronged 
towards the centre and left the outskirts unguarded, 
he advanced with his daring troopers, and took up a firm 
position on the hills, in the teeth of the enemy's fire. A 
desperate struggle here commenced without leading to 
any issue. Some regiments that had already taken part 
in the contest under Frederick's guidance, perceived this 
renewal of the struggle ; hurrying forward to assist at its 
decision, they were conducted by the blaze of light issuing 
from the burning village, and succeeded in approaching 
without being observed : they fell upon the Austrians on 
the flank, and the fortune of the day was soon decided. 
The enemy was forced to retire from the field which they 
already considered as won. Daun, who had been pre- 
viously wounded, and conveyed to Torgau, now gave 
orders that his army should immediately evacuate that 
town, and cross to the other side of the Elbe. 

The night was wild and stormy, and numbers of the 
men of both armies who had been dispersed in bodies, 
wandered about, ignorant of the result of the battle, in 
search of their comrades. The flames of the burning 
village had died away, and the numerous fires, which had 
been lighted as a preservative against the extreme cold, 
served but to lead the wanderers astray. The Austrians 
directed their steps by the murmuring of the Elbe, but 
whole battalions fell into the hands of the Prussians , 
detachments of the latter encountered one another, and, 



348 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

not being able to recognize their fellow-countrymen, con- 
siderable slaughter ensued. The wounded and unwounded 
of both armies frequently lay in groups round the same 
fire. Weary of carnage, they had come to a mutual 
understanding amongst themselves to become reciprocally 
the captives of whatever side had conquered. Nor were 
those wild hordes wanting who swarmed round the battle- 
field, plundering the dead and the dying. 

Day dawned at length, and Frederick appeared on the 
bloody field of battle, to make provision for the wounded 
and care for their wants. It was a subject of universal 
joy to his army to find him, whom all thought severely 
wounded, fresh and unhurt. A grenadier in the last 
death struggle called out to him as he passed, " Now I 
die with pleasure, as I see that we have conquered, and 
my king is alive." On Frederick and Zieten meeting, they 
clasped each other with much emotion ; Frederick wept 
aloud, and was unequal to the task of returning thanks 
to his faithful hero. 

The loss on both sides had been very considerable. 
That of the Prussians amounted to between 12,000 and 
13,000 men ; that of the Austrians to upwards of 16,000 ; 
but the latter were still superior in point of numbers ; 
and, had they made but a proper use of their strength, 
they might have rendered the fruits of the victory of 
equivocal value to Frederick ; but the suddenness of de- 
feat, after the certainty of victory, which they had already 
sent a courier to announce, robbed them of all resolution, 
and they withdrew to Dresden, seeking but to retain pos- 
session of the capital. Frederick made several endeavors 
to drive them from thence, and push tliem back into Bo- 
hemia, but the severity of the approaching winter rendered 
this impossible, and both armies now proceeded to take 
up winter-quarters. The Russians fell back on Poland, 
the army of the empire on Franconia. Some attempts 
made by a special Austrian corps upon Upper Silesia 
proved likewise abortive. This campaign, like the pre- 
ceding ones, had been opened by the enemy with over- 



CAMPAIGN OF 1760. TORGAU. S49 

whelming numbers, and yet, at its close, after all their 
conquests, Glatz alone remained in their possession. 

Between the French army and the allied troops under 
Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick, several battles had been 
fought with various success. The French had taken the 
field with an enormous army, but incompetency and dis- 
sension amongst the leaders more than compensated for 
their numerical superiority ; advances were alternately 
made by one party and the other ; but no decisive result 
was thereby achieved. Towards the beginning of the 
following year, about the month of February, the duke 
gained, by a sudden assault, very considerable advantages, 
but lost them again some months subsequently, and the 
troops were on both sides drawn off to their previous 
winter-quarters, without any material change in the rela- 
tions of the contending parties having taken place. 



850 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

CAMPAIGN OF 1761. THE CAMP AT BUNZELWITZ. 

Ineffectual attempts had been repeatedly made dur- 
ing the course of the winter, by tlie several European 
cabinets, to adjust the confused relations in which Europe 
had so long stood, and by which society was still agitated. 
The first overtures came from France, which, without 
having any immediate interest in the struggle, was one 
of the greatest sufferers by its continuance. The war it 
had carried on in Westphalia had already swallowed up 
vast sums, but the losses occasioned by the naval war 
with England were still more considerable ; it was ac- 
cordingly proposed, that a general European congress 
should be held at Augsberg, but the same evil passions 
which had originally led to hostilities were still as active 
as ever ; and though Frederick from his heart desired 
peace, yet he would not in any way consent to accede to 
unjust concessions : thus the negotiations, after having 
been continued for a short period, were soon and ab- 
ruptly broken off. 

The preparations which were on all sides made for a 
renewal of active hostilities, were now pushed with pro- 
portionable vigor ; but the strength of all parties gradu- 
ally began to fail : Frederick was obliged to have recourse 
to more severe fiscal measures, in order\to obtain means 
for continuing the contest. Poor Saxony, which had 
already suffered so severely from this unhappy war, was 
burthened with additional taxes, forced to furnish new 
contributions, and compelled to submit to a considerable 



CAMPAIGN OF 17S1. CAMP AT BUNZELWITZ. 351 

reduction in the value of its currency. Recruits were 
everywhere enlisted for the Prussian service, agriculture 
was altogether abandoned wherever the hostile armies 
appeared and the ploughshare exchanged for the musket. 
It will be easily imagined what extreme severity of dis- 
cipline was necessary to give this rabble, collected from 
every quarter and in every manner, anything like the 
appearance of a regular army. Austria, on the other 
hand, possessed in her populous provinces ample nurseries 
for recruiting her ranks, and it was even easy to observe, 
that in the same proportion as the Prussian army became 
depreciated in character and efficiency, the Austrian army 
improved ; but whilst Frederick, by his clever financial 
operations was always able to meet the dem.ands on his 
exchequer, the Austrian treasury was wholly drained. 
All the officers of the staff were obliged to accept of pay- 
ment in paper-money, which latter was to be exchanged 
for gold after the termination of the war. Whoever 
could not conveniently wait for so long and indefinite a 
period, was obliged to have recourse to a special bank, 
where the paper was exchanged, but at a very consider- 
able discount. This bank had been opened by the Em- 
peror Francis, the husband of Maria Theresa, whose tastes 
were decidedly numismatic, and whose activity Vv^as ex- 
clusively confined to pecuniary speculations. 

To meet the deficiencies of his sinking resources, Fred- 
erick was obliged to have recourse to severe measures, 
and the invariable consequences of protracted warfare en- 
sued. He had hitherto conscientiously abstained from 
touching in any way the royal palaces in Saxony, or the 
valuable artistic treasures with which they were richly 
adorned ; the only private property which he did not re- 
gret to see suffer, was that of Count Briihl, who had always 
exhibited the most rancorous hatred towards him; bub 
the plundering of the Charlottenburg palace, and the bar- 
barous destruction of the antiquarian remains there 
treasured up, v/hich had been obtained at immense 
pecuniary sacrifices, inflamed him to the utmost pitch of 



S52 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

frenzy ; and as Saxon troops had been chiefly Instru- 
mental in this work of destruction, he was determined 
to retaliate upon Saxony. He waited, notwithstanding, 
for several months, after having made public complaint 
of this conduct, and threatened reprisals, without one 
word of excuse coming from the lips of King Augustus ; 
upon this, Frederick gave orders to plunder the hunting 
palace, Hubertsburg, which had been called the " heart's- 
core " of the King of Poland. " The heads of the great," 
said he, " do not feel the hair torn from the heads of 
their subjects ; we must attack them where they will feel 
it." But it was somewhat difficult to find in the Prussian 
army an officer to obey this command. General de Sal- 
dern, whom the king first appointed for this service, posi- 
tively refused, considering it to be contrary to honor, oath, 
and duty, and for this act was visited with the monarch's 
displeasure. A free corps under Major Quintus Icilius 
eventually executed the order. 

In the midst of all this, Frederick did not allow the 
quiet of the winter-quarters, Avhich he had taken up in 
Leipzig, to pass without some of those enjoyments that 
had previously constituted his happiness. Leipzig was 
considered in those days as the centre of German science 
and poetry, and frequent opportunities offered for his 
here becoming acquainted with its rich resources, little as 
he in general valued the exertions of Germans in the intel- 
lectual world. He had become acquainted with Gottsched 
during a former visit, and this poet, to whom Voltaire 
paid some attention, had made a favorable impression 
upon him. Frederick dedicated a poem to him, in which 
he addresses him as the Saxon swan, and closes with the 
flattering words, — 

** By thy harmonious strains thus addest thou 
ApoUo's fairer wreath to that bright crown 
That long since decks the warrior German's brow I " 

Gottsched now received a second invitation from the 
king, but the manners of the poet, which were far from 



GAMPAiaZf OF 1761. CAMP AT BUNZELWITZ. 35S 

captivating, made no very favorable impression. Fred- 
erick took more pleasure in the society of the modest 
Gellert ; he listened with pleasure to the latter whilst re- 
citing his clever fables, and took delight in the flowing 
metre. " Gellert," said he, " is the most rational of all 
German scholars, the only one who will descend to pos- 
terity." This extravagant eulogium could have only come 
from a person like Frederick, who formed his estimate of 
German knowledge from the state in which he found it 
in the commencement of the century, and who was 
unacquainted with the names of Klopstock, Lessing, and 
the other great spirits to whom the German nation looks 
back with pride. Gellert was, however, but once formally 
invited to his presence. It is possible that the poet's sup- 
plication, which was not very well timed, imploring Fred- 
erick to grant Germany peace, to which the latter simply 
replied, that this did not lie in his power, and perhaps 
still more, his statement, that he paid more attention to 
ancient than modern history, may have been in a great 
measure the cause of Frederick's taking less interest in 
him. 

His evenings, as in times of peace, were enlivened by 
music, and for this purpose he summoned several mem- 
bers of his orchestra from Berlin, but he took, personally, 
a less active part in the performance than formally. 
Playing the flute had already begun to affect his lungs. 

The Marquis D'Argens, whose sincere sympathy and 
respect Frederick prized highly, had likewise come to 
Leipzig, and Frederick passed his evenings, after the con- 
certs, in conversation with him. On D'Argens entering 
Frederick's room one evening, he found him seated on the 
floor with a dish of fricassee before him, from which the 
royal greyhounds were taking their supper. Frederick 
held in his hand a small stick, with which he was keep- 
ing order amongst his canine favorites, and pushing over 
the best morceaux to his little pet greyhound. The 
Marquis paused in astonishment and exclaimed, " How 
much would the five great powers of Europe be surprised 



354 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

to learn how the Margrave of Brandenburg, against whom 
they had vowed destruction, is at present employed ! 
They probably think that he is laying some deep plan for 
the approaching campaign, collecting funds, providing 
magazines for man and horse, or plotting how to divide 
his enemies and obtain friends. But not one particle of 
all this. He sits quietly in his room feeding his dogs ! " 

The campaign of 1761 opened somewhat late, and no 
event of any importance occurred until the close of the 
year. Frederick was frequently obliged to oppose a foe 
immeasurably superior, and in positions which rendered 
it a matter of the utmost difficulty to supply such losses 
as were sustained, even when the victory was nominally 
his. He was reduced to a more strict observance than 
ever of his system of defence, obliged to await the attacks 
of his enemies, and watch for such errors as they might 
make, reserving his strength as much as possible for 
decisive moments. The prelude to the contest opened 
towards the close of the winter, when an expedition against 
the army of the empire was undertaken, and so success- 
fully executed, that the latter was forced to abandon 
its position with considerable loss, and remain for a long 
time in a state of inactivity. Silesia next became the seat 
of war. The chief aim of the enemy was to get possession 
of this province. An Austrian army, under Loudon, con- 
sisting of 75,000 men, together with a Russian army 
60,000 strong, under the command of Field-marshal But- 
turlin, was to be here concentrated. Frederick set out 
in May for Silesia, in order to prevent this junction, but 
could only oppose 55,000 men to both these armies. He 
left Prince Henry behind him for the protection of Saxony. 

The three months from the middle of August were 
passed in different manoeuvres, marches, and counter- 
marches. The union of the hostile armies was to have 
taken place in Upper Silesia ; Frederick accordingly pro- 
ceeded thither, but Loudon's operations were so skilfully 
directed that no advantage was gained over him. • In the 
meantime, the Russians had advanced into Lower Silesia, 



CAMPAIGN OF 1761. CAMP AT BUNZELWIT2. 355 

and crossed the Oder between Glogau and Breslau. Lou- 
don kept moving rapidly from Upper Silesia on Bohemia, 
occupied the passes of the Riesengebirge, and here 
effected that junction between the two armies which had 
been planned for years, and which Frederick was now 
unable to prevent. Both armies stood in the neighbor- 
hood of Striegau ; Frederick advanced against them, but 
seeing himself baffled in his plans, he made an attempt 
to dissolve their union in another way, and directed his 
march towards an important post, which the Austrians 
had abandoned on the approach of the Russians, in order 
to cut off all supplies from Bohemia, without which the 
enemy could not retain their position. But here, too, 
Loudon had displayed his usual foresight, and as Fred- 
erick approached the hills, he found them so strongly 
occupied as to be wholly unassailable. 

The immense superiority which the enemy had now 
obtained in the heart of Silesia seemed to promise a 
speedy fulfilment of those wishes so long entertained by 
Frederick's enemies for his total prostration. Unequal to 
cope with his foes in the open field, he could not even 
hope to be able to maintain his position for any length of 
time in the Silesian fortresses. All he could now do was 
to avoid every unnecessary sacrifice, and wait till the 
want of provisions compelled the enemy to disperse ; in 
this system he completely succeeded, and gave, in its exe- 
cution, signal proofs of his military genius. On the 20th 
of August he encamped near Bungelwitz, and thus, by 
covering the neighboring fortress of Schweidnitz, kept 
up his connection with Breslau, and was completely un- 
shackled in his future measures. Nature had done but 
little to protect this camp from hostile attack, but several 
days elapsed before his enemies could agree in their 
system of operations; and when they subsequently 
approached, for the purpose of reconnoitring, they no 
longer found a camp, but a regular fortress, which had 
grown out of the earth within an incredibly short period. 
The whole Prussian army had, in fact, unceasingly 



356* FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

labored, day and night, in raising these intrenehments ; 
a chain of defences, trenches, and powerful batteries had 
been drawn round the camp, and the alignments de- 
fended by abattis and chevaux-de-frise ; hi front, pits had 
been dug, and the ground regularly undermined. All 
attacks of the enemy could now be regarded with less 
apprehension and the foe, on discovering this state of 
things, found themselves obliged to relinquish their 
original plans and adopt new measures. 

Meanwhile, as the hostile armies stood in the form of a 
crescent round the camp, and an attack might be momen- 
tarily expected, it was necessary to pay the utmost atten- 
tion to their movements. The troops within the camp 
were perpetually transposed in order to prevent the enemy 
from being able to discover the strength of the different 
regiments, and as the number of the cannon was insuf- 
ficient for the protection of the whole circuit of the camp, 
stumps of trees were here and there inserted in the loop- 
holes. Particular care was likewise taken to be pro- 
vided against a nocturnal assault. The troops rested for 
the most part during the day and in the evening the 
tents were struck and the men got under arms. Fred- 
erick himself shared all these toils and exertions in com- 
mon with his soldiers ; he always passed his nights in the 
open air, on the most important battery. He frequently 
sat down with the men before a watchfire, and would lay 
himself to rest for a couple of hours, stretched upon a 
few military cloaks. On such occasions the soldiers were 
frequently heard to say, " If Fritz sleeps with us here it 
is better than if 50,000 of us were watching. Now let 
the enemy come ; if we have Fritz with us we do not fear 
the devil ; but the devil must fear him, for God is more 
powerful than the devil, and the king is wiser than his 
enemies ! " Frederick frequently had a bundle of straw 
brought into the battery in which he intended to pass the 
night, and on this he lay do^vn, whilst the crowned heads 
that planned his destruction were reclining on silkeu 
couclies. 



CAMPAIGN OF 1761. CAMP AT BUNZELWITZ. 357 

Several weeks passed in this way. The troops, com- 
pletely exhausted by their unceasing exertions, began to 
feel a want of provisions, as the enemy had cut off their 
communication with the country, and disease and de- 
spair were creeping into the camp. Frederick did all in 
his power to sustain the courage of his men. The sound 
of his voice and the glance of his eye alone kept up the 
drooping spirits of the soldiers, and inspired tliem with 
something like confidence. The extreme danger of his 
position was no secret to him, as he was fully aware that 
his troops could by no possibility, under the circum- 
stances, withstand a determined assault from an enemy 
so vastly superior. He did not conceal his apprehensions 
on this subject from his more intimate friends ; and to 
old Zieten, who shared all the toils of the camp, he not 
unfrequently applied for consolation. Fortune or fate 
could never break the elasticity of Zieten's fearless heart ; 
he gave utterance to the confident hopes he felt that all 
would end well. But Frederick, who took a closer survey 
of his real position, could not abandon himself to any 
very ardent anticipations. He once asked Zieten, ironi- 
cally, whether he had a single ally. " No," replied Zieten, 
" except that old one up there, and he will not abandon 
us." " Ah," sighed the king, " he works no more miracles." 
" We don't want them," replied Zieten, " but he fights 
for us, and does not allow us to sink." But few moons 
passed, and Zieten's words were verified in a manner little 
to have been expected. 

The bold determination with which Fredericl?:, in the 
face of his foes, maintained his position, had rendered 
them doubtful as to the propriety of a joint attack, and 
the jealousy and want of cordiality existing between the 
Russians and Austrians proved a further impediment. 
Butturlin had already felt annoyed at Loudon's not hav- 
ing formed a junction with him sooner, and at his having 
left him exposed to the danger of being attacked singly 
by the Prussians ; besides which, as the empress was ill, 
he wished to recommend himself to her successor, by 



358 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

taking no very active steps against Frederick, and it was 
in vain that Loudon strove to induce him to join in a 
combined attack on the Prussian camp. The story goes, 
that once at the dinner-table, when wine had warmed the 
Russian leader, Loudon succeeded in extracting a promise 
of consent but as soon as the fumes of the liquor had 
passed away the orders for the attack were counter- 
manded. The enemy, too, began to feel a scarcity of pro- 
visions, and Loudon made repeated attempts to bring his 
ally to some decided determination. He drew up a plan 
of attack, assigning the Russians their different posts and 
duties. This had the effect of wounding Butturlin's pride 
most seriously ; taking advantage of the want of provisions, 
which afforded him a colorable excuse, on the 10th of 
September he moved with his army towards the Oder, 
leaving only a corps of 12,000 men, under the command 
of General Czernitscheff, behind him with the Austrians. 
Loudon now took up a new position on the side of some 
hills, at a further distance from the Prussian camp. The 
joy that prevailed throughout the latter at so unexpected 
a deliverance was indeed great, and Frederick, after grant- 
ing fourteen days' rest, which was much wanted after 
such toils and privations, broke up the camp. 



CAMPAIGN OF 1761. CAMP AT STREHLEN. 359 



CHAPTER XXXVL 

CONCLUSION OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1761. THE CAMP AT 

STREHLEN. 

December was fast approaching, and the campaign in 
Silesia had taken a more fortunate turn than could have 
been at first anticipated. Frederick now laid his meas- 
ures so as to drive the two hostile armies completely out 
of the country before they could agree on the adoption of 
any new plan of operations. With this view he dis- 
patched, immediately after the departure of the Russians, 
a special corps to Poland to destroy the Russian maga- 
zines there ; and this corps fortunately succeeded in over- 
taking an important convoy, destroying and dissipating 
or taking captive the greater number of its numerous es- 
cort ; by which means the departure of the Russians from 
Silesia Avas considerably accelerated. Frederick sought 
in person to render Loudon harmless. He desired noth- 
ing further than to allure the Austrian s from their posi- 
tion by a series of artificial manoeuvres, which were in- 
tended to appear as if threatening the provinces of Glatz 
or Moravia, both of which were in the hands of the Aus- 
trians. But Loudon did not fall into the snare. He oc- 
cupied the passes leading to these provinces, and took ad- 
vantage of the circumstance of Frederick's having sepa- 
rated himself from Schweidnitz, to execute a bold and 
wholly unexpected measure. On the night of the 30th 
of September he suddenly appeared, in advance of his 
arixiy, before Schweidnitz, the garrison of which was not 
very strong, and the following day carried the fortress by 
storm. 



360 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

By this bold blow, which gave the enemy firm footing 
in Silesia, and enabled them both to take up their winter- 
quarters in the land and commence their operations for the 
future year with incomparably more energy, Frederick's 
fate had taken a most unpropitious turn. He did not 
allow, however, his heart to despair. The sad effect which 
the dispiriting news of this catastrophe had upon his 
army was speedily dispelled by an address, in which he 
appealed to theu' patriotism and breathed fresh courage 
into their hearts. He anxiously wished to come to an en- 
gagement with Loudon, but as the latter cautiously main- 
tained his position, Frederick resolved on taking up his 
quarters at Strehlen, from whence he could oppose with 
equal promptitude any attempts of his enemies either in 
the direction of Breslau or Schweidnitz. The troops were 
distributed through the villages round Strehlen, and 
Loudon's position became valueless for any effective 
purpose. 

The camp of Strehlen was destined to obtain historical 
notoriety from many circumstances. In the course of the 
month of October an embassy arrived from the Tartar 
Cham, Kerim Geray, who, as a decided foe of the Russians, 
made offers to the Prussian King of furnishing troops at 
a certain stipulated price. The ambassador, Mustapha 
Aga, was received mth all fitting honor. A treaty was 
actually concluded, in pursuance of which 16,000 Tartars 
were to enter Upper Silesia in the following year, whilst 
a simultaneous incursion on Russia was to be undertaken 
by the Cham. With the Turkish sultan, too, after several 
abortive attempts, a treaty of commerce was concluded, 
and the sultan was collecting at Belgrade a considerable 
host to oppose Frederick's enemies. Both these treaties 
were much desired by Frederick, in order to create a 
diversion, and nothing but the great change in European 
policy, which took place the following year, prevented 
their execution. 

Another incident which occurred in Strehlen was the 
treacherous attempt to deliver the king alive or dead into 



CAMPAIGN OF 1761. CAMP AT STREHLEN. 361 

the hands of his enemies. One of Frederick's vassals, 
Baron Warkotsch, whose possessions lay in the immediate 
neighborhood of Strehlen, dissatisfied at being checked by 
the Prussian government in the tyrannical treatment of 
his serfs, was, in concert with an Austrian officer, Colonel 
Wallis, the originator of the plot. He had frequently 
waited upon the king in Strehlen, and made himself ac- 
quainted with all his movements. Frederick's temporary 
residence was outside the town, in the neighboring village 
of Woiselwitz. The guard in front of his house consisted 
of but thirteen men, and with the exception of these there 
were but few troops in the village or in the town itself, 
'as the army had been for the most part dismissed to their 
winter-quarters. The communications between War- 
kotsch and Wallis are said to have been kept up through 
the medium of a clergyman, Francis Schmidt. The letters 
of the latter and those of Colonel Wallis were conveyed 
by Mathias Kappel, a servant of the Baron's. This serv- 
ant had his suspicions awakened from the circumstance of 
the correspondence being carried on with such secrecy, 
and from different expressions which had fallen from his 
master. On the 29th of October, having come with the 
baron to Strehlen, on receiving directions, in the middle 
of the night, to convey a letter to Schmidt, which was to 
be forwarded to Colonel Wallis, his suspicions were con- 
firmed. He opened the letter, and found the whole plot 
detailed in it. He had the letter copied, without loss of 
time, by an evangelical clergyman, sent a copy to Schmidt, 
and hurried with the original to the headquarters of the 
king. Frederick received the momentous epistle, and ad- 
dressed the bearer with the words — " You are but an in- 
strument in the hand of a higher power ! " Preparations 
were immediately made to arrest the traitors. The baron 
and Schmidt were seized, but both found means of escape. 
The baron, who had been surprised by a Prussian officer 
in his palace, obtained permission from the latter to 
change his dress. From his bedchamber he hastened to 
the stables, and throwing himself upon a horse, got so far 



3g2 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

in advance as to be out of the reach of his pursuers. The 
clergyman, who was dining with a nobleman, asked per- 
mission to retire for a moment, and taking advantage of 
this temporary absence of his guards, escaped. 

The king was not in reality displeased at the flight of 
both the traitors. They were, however, sentenced to 
suffer death. Warkotsch was to be quartered, Schmidt 
decapitated and then quartered. Frederick was no friend 
of capital punishments, but could subscribe the sentence 
with composure, as it was to be executed on their elBgies. 
" Let it be done," said he, ''for their portraits will in all 
probability be of just as much value as themselves." 
The sentence was executed in May following, on both 
effigies, upon a scaffold erected for that purpose. 

It would appear from all the results of the judicial in- 
vestigation, that this plot was the work of but a few in- 
dividuals. From the Austrian leaders it met with the 
proper abhorrence. The noble family De Wallis publicly 
declared that this Colonel Wallis was no relation of theirs. 
The Catholic church had likewise no further share in the 
plot, than that one of her unworthy servants lent him- 
self to so traitorous a project. Several circumstances are 
mentioned tending to show that the Catholic clergy of 
Silesia had frequently acted with hostility towards Fred- 
erick, and the conduct of the pope, after the battle of 
Hochkirch, was calculated to give a color to such suspicion ; 
but all manifestations of this kind are wholly unconnected 
with the act of Warkotsch, and it seems fully established 
that this treasonable plot was confined to but few con- 
federates. One of the tales told of the Catholic priests 
of these times is not without a certain degree of humor, 
however questionable its historic truth may be. A plot 
was once, as we are told, laid against the Prussian gov- 
ernors of a Silesian town. They were to be attacked 
during the night by Austrian troops, and the clergy were 
to drive the guards from their posts. For the execution 
of this latter purpose one of them is said to have assumed 
the character of his Satanic majesty, and sparkling all 



CAMPAIGN OF 1761. CAMP AT STREHEEN. 363 

over with phosphorus presented himself in the stillness of 
night before a sentry. The latter, however, sinking the 
sinner in the soldier, levelled his musket at the arch-fiend, 
who now deemed it advisable to seek safety in flight. 
Being overtaken by his sturdy pursuer, he was lodged in 
the guardhouse, and on the following day conducted 
along the lines, exposed to the ridicule and mockery of 
the whole army. From that day forward all similar 
attempts ceased. 

Soon after the danger which impended over the mon- 
arch's head had been averted in Strehlen, a second plot 
was laid, the success of which would have been equally 
disastrous. Magdeburg, the principal fortress of the 
Prussian kingdom, the residence of the court, the place 
of security for the royal treasure, archives, and munitions 
of war, was to be played into the hands of the enemy. 
The plan was laid by a man who sat in chains in the 
dungeons of that fortress. Baron Von Der Trenck, who 
had been guilty of high-treason and other misdemeanors. 
He had been already confined in Glatz, but had found 
means to escape by main force. After having made 
several unsuccessful attempts in Magdeburg of a similar 
kind, he was now treated with great rigor, but succeeded^ 
nevertheless, in raising a plot amongst the numerous 
prisoners confined in the fortress. The hour of destruc- 
tion was already close at hand, when the conspiracy was 
discovered, and the severity of Trenck's treatment con- 
siderably augmented 

Yet, though these threatening dangers had blown over, 
the king was still destined to meet a blow which, when 
taken in connection with the loss of Schweidnitz, seemed 
to augur his speedy fall. The Russian army in Pomerania 
and a combined fleet of Russians and Swedes had ap- 
peared in front of Kolberg. A Prussian corps, under the 
command of the Prince of Wurtemberg, however, lay en- 
trenched in front of the fortress, and this corps must be 
conquered before the enemy could proceed to the block- 
ade of Kolberg. The fortress and Prussian camp were 



og4. FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

now invested by the enemy, but every attack made was 
valiantly repulsed. A want of provisions began to be ex- 
perienced, and the situation of the besieged became more 
distressing on the entrance of the Russian main army into 
Pomerania, which cut off all means of supply. The 
Prince of AVurtemberg saw himself eventually reduced to 
the necessity of forcing a passage through the enemy. 
In this he succeeded, but his attempts to relieve Kolberg 
proved ineffectual. After the most valiant defence, the 
brave commandant of the fortress, who had attained high 
renown for his chivalrous conduct during the previous 
year, was forced, from want of provisions, to surrender. 
The fortress passed, on the 16th of September, mto the 
hands of the Russians, who thereby obtained a firm foot- 
ing in Pomerania, as the Austrians had already done in 

Silesia. 

But the measure of Frederick's misfortunes was not 
yet full. It is true some feeble attempts of the Swedes 
had been as usual repulsed, and Prince Henry had so 
valiantly defended Saxony against the combined forces of 
the Austrians, under Daun, and the army of the empire, 
that the enemy obtained but few advantages there ; and 
further, Frederick's ally, the Duke of Brunswick, had 
struggled so successfully against the French that little 
was to be apprehended at present from that quarter. 
But an ally, whose aid had been hitherto of the utmost 
importance to Frederick, now deserted him, and he was 
thereby reduced altogether to a reliance on his own re- 
sources, and forced to cope single-handed with his enemies. 
The death of King George II. of England, and the ac- 
cession of George III., which events occurred the year 
before, caused a considerable change to take place in the 
policy of England. Pitt had been obliged to make way 
for Lord Bute, the favorite of the new monarch. Loudly 
as the parliament advocated the cause of Frederick, who 
had been recognized by it under the names of the Great, 
and Invincible, yet Lord Bute, anxious that England 
should enjoy the advantages of peace, succeeded in pre- 



CAMPAIGN OF 1761. CAMP AT STREHLEN. 365 

venting a renewal of the treaty betAveen England and 
Prussia, and stopped the payment of all future subsidies. 

Thus terminated the year 1761. Prussia Proper and 
the Westphalian provinces had been from the commence- 
ment of the war in the hands of the enemy. Glatz, 
Schweidnitz, Kolberg, and a great part of Pomerania 
were now likewise in their hands. A most favorable 
path to new successes was now open to them. The posses- 
sions which Frederick had still left him were waste and 
desolate. Saxony, which had hitherto furnished such 
large contingents, was now completely exhausted. The 
important aid hitherto derived from England, which had 
been so useful in meeting the current expenses of the war, 
was now at an end, and England even seemed disposed to 
conclude j)eace with France, whereby Frederick would be 
obliged to oppose the army of this foe also out of his own 
resources. To counterbalance all this he had nothing 
beyond the promise of a petty subsidy from the Tartars, 
and a still more equivocal treaty with the Turks. In 
truth, that the gigantic foes with whom Frederick 
struggled had not secured greater advantages during 
those six years than those we have detailed, is a proof of 
generalship on his part wholly unparalleled in the annals 
of history. But Frederick was still destined, although 
his strength daily melted away, to outlive the storm that 
threatened to engulf him. His former disasters consisted, 
comparatively speaking, in mere momentary distresses, 
which a bold decisive movement might still repair. But 
now nothing remained, at least within the calculation of 
human prudence, for him, than to descend in ignominy 
to such rank as the charitj^ of his enemies might vouch- 
safe as an alms, or in the alternative meet an honorable 
death. 

There are perhaps few who, on a dispassionate survey 
of the then state of things, would have arrived at a dif- 
ferent conclusion. The enemy exulted; Maria Theresa 
was so certain of the crowning successes of the next year 
that she considered it perfectly advisable and safe to diS' 



366 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

band 20,000 of her army — a step rendered in some meas- 
ure necessary by the extremely exhausted state of her 
exchequer. Frederick's convictions were of the same 
kind, but with the cahnness of intrepidity he looked the 
future in the face, determined on doing nought that 
might compromise his own dignity. His resolution had 
been long since taken. He had been too long the inti- 
mate companion of death — had too frequently seen de- 
struction in every shape hovering above his head to flinch 
or feel nervous at coming disasters. Singularly strange 
were the poems which he wrote in the camp at Strehlen, 
and in the winter-quarters at Breslau. There was no 
longer any wild sentimentality, as after the battle of 
KoUin — no request that his friends should strew his 
grave with roses and myrtles. No ; he no longer wished 
to escape from life as a burthen ; he had so accustomed 
himself to suffering as to be but strengthened and revived 
by every blow which fate had dealt him. If he now 
looked with favor on a voluntary death it was because 
the continuance of his life appeared to be but the contin- 
uance of dishonor. In his calmness and elevated com- 
posure he raised his mind above the present, and exalted 
himself above the petty relations in which he was placed. 
He commemorated in poetry the heroism of the Emperor 
Otho, who sacrificed himself to prevent his subjects from 
being annihilated beneath the sword of the conqueror ; 
he eulogized Cato of Utica, who, as a free Roman citizen, 
resigned his life rather than submit to be false to himself, 
and grace in chains the triumphant chariot of a tyrant. 
With such memorials of the past, he steeled his resolu- 
tion to wait for the last great decisive moment. 

This undaunted heroism was destined to meet with its 
reward. 



CA2IPAIGN OF 1763. PEACB, U7 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

CAMPAIGN OF 1762. BURKERSDORF AND SCHWEIDNITZ. 

PEACE. 

Destiny, whose throne is above the clouds ; she, who 
overwhehns the mighty and confounds the counsels of 
the wise, and guides the world unceasingly towards its 
pre-ordained end, had issued far other decrees than those 
which short-sighted mortals had read in the past. Her 
tempest-breath had ere now overwhelmed and sunk in 
the ocean's deepest abyss the invincible fleet of a monarch 
on whose realms the sun never set, and the home of 
freedom escaped destruction. She now numbered to the 
countless victims Avhom the angel of death had within the 
last six years borne away, one victim more, and thus dis- 
sipated the haughty councils of the foe ; that king, whose 
powerful mind had opened the way for a new era in the 
world, was safe ! 

On the 5th January, 1762, died Elizabeth, Empress of 
Russia. Her nephew, Peter III., ascended the vacant 
throne. In proportion as the hostility, which Elizabeth 
ever evinced towards Frederick, had been uncompromising 
and deadly, in the same degree was the admiration testi- 
fied towards him by her successor, the present Emperor, 
sincere and warm. As heir presumptive, Peter had never 
appeared in the Russian cabinet when counsels hostile to 
Frederick were to be taken. He was well acquainted 
with all the details of the different campaigns, with the 
operations and relations of the Prussian army ; he wove 
Frederick's likeness in a ring on his finger, and considered 



368 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

him as the great model which he was bound minutely to 
study. From Frederick to Peter, and from the latter to 
Frederick, flew ambassadors, bringing congratulations 
and assurances of friendship. The Prussian prisoners 
throughout the whole Russian empire were immediately 
summoned to the capital, and, after meeting an honorable 
reception tliere, dismissed to rejoin the army of their 
country. An armistice was immediately concluded, and 
this was followed, on the 5th of May, by a formal treaty 
of peace, by which Peter restored to Frederick all the 
conquests which had been made under his predecessor, 
without looking for any compensation w^hatsoever ; the 
province of Prussia was released from its oath of fealty, 
and the Russian troops received orders to evacuate Pom- 
erania, N"ew Mark, and Prussia. Czernitscheff's corps, 
which was still incorporated with the Austrians, and had 
taken up its winter- quarters in the province of Glatz, was 
likcAvise recalled. In fine, the peace was followed by a 
treaty of alliance, and Czernitscheff, who had been in the 
meantime sent to Poland, received orders to unite his 
corps with Frederick's army. 

So sudden a change in the political relations caused the 
world to stand aghast. Europe could not comprehend 
the strange tidings which every post brought, and which 
became daily more incredible. Lord Bute, the English 
minister, who desired nothing but a general peace, and 
cared little for Frederick's honor, when the amicable re- 
lations between the king and the czar were on tlie point 
of being concluded, made offers to the latter, in the 
event of the war being continued as formerly, to secure 
to him such of Frederick's possessions as he might please 
to select. Peter was so incensed at this, that he not only 
rejected the overtures with contempt, but informed Fred- 
erick of them, in order to convince him of the treachery 
of his former ally. Sweden, which appeared most en- 
dangered by this new friendship between Russia and 
Prussia, was the first to recognize its own interest, and 
the queen, Frederick's sister, was naturally very anxious 



CAMPAIGN OF 1762. PEACE. 369 

to open negotiations for peace. On the 20th of May an 
amicable treaty was concluded with this kingdom, and 
the international relations replaced on the same footing as 
that on which they had stood previous to the outbreak of 
the war. Maria Theresa was more bewildered than any 
one else, on seeing the brilliant hopes which she conceived 
herself justified in cherishing at the close of the former 
year thus vanish into empty air. Through the re- 
duction of her army and the departure of Czernitscheflf's 
corps, her strength now amounted to but 40,000 men, 
whilst that of Frederick was augmented to the amount of 
60,000, thus making a difference of 20,000 in the scales of 
war. Frederick said that three won battles could not 
have secured him greater advantages. In addition to 
this, several contagious cutaneous diseases had broken out 
and ravaged the Austrian army. The union of Czernits- 
cheff's corps with the Prussians was altogether so 
incredible to the Austrians, that they considered it as a 
mere deception, pracdsed by Frederick, and declared 
that they must be unquestionably Prussian troops 
equipped in Russian uniforms. 

This fortunate turn of events produced in Frederick, 
his army, and his people the most unbounded, and in- 
describable joy. Their old confidence in themselves 
returned, and every one looked forward to a speedy 
termination of this tedious war. The main strength of the 
Prussian army was now concentrated in Silesia, in order 
to recover from the Austrians what they had taken during 
the preceding year ; but the commencement of active 
operations was through these negotiations with Russia, 
postponed till summer, and Frederick did not attempt 
any decisive movement until the arrival of the Russian 
auxiliary corps. The Austrians felt little inclination, 
under this change of circumstances, to anticipate the com- 
mencement of the war, and sought to employ this interval 
of rest to the best advantage, in making dispositions for 
the security of their newly acquired possessions. The 
fortifications of Schweidnitz were strengthened as much 



370 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

as possible, and the main body of the Austrian army en- 
camped in the neighboring heights for the protection of 
the fortress. Daun had again succeeded to the command 
of the army, and the passes of the hills were so strength- 
ened by entrenchments as to be rendered almost unassail- 
able. Frederick made different attempts to seduce the 
enemy into a less favorable position, in order to be able to 
commence the siege of Schweidnitz without interruption ; 
but Daun was not to be misled by any manoeuvres. Even 
on Frederick's making an incursion on Bohemia, in Daun's 
rear, the latter remained without moving from his posi- 
tion. In this expedition the advanced guard of Czernits- 
cheff's corps, consisting of 2000 Cossacks, were employed. 

The honor was, however, reserved for Frederick of 
terminating, without foreign aid, the contest which he 
had so long maintained single-handed. Few days had 
elapsed from the junction of Czernitscheff's corps with 
the Prussian army, when, on the 19th of July, intelligence 
arrived from St. Petersburg of a nature that threatened 
to blast all the brilliant prospects that had opened for the 
Prussians, and bring matters back to their old position. 
Peter III. had, by a number of ill-advised innovations, 
rendered himself obnoxious to all classes of his people ; 
he had treated the Empress Catherine, his wife, in such 
a manner as to warrant the worst fears. A conspiracy 
against his life had been set on foot, and was speedily 
followed by a revolution, his dethronement, and sub- 
sequent death. Catherine succeeded to the throne. The 
peace concluded with Prussia was regarded as a national 
disgrace for Russia, and Czernitscheff received immediate 
orders to separate from the Prussian army. From Pome- 
rania and Prussia information arrived to the effect, that 
the Russian troops were everywhere preparing for a 
renewal of hostilities. 

Intelligence so sudden, complicated, and disastrous, 
came like a thunderbolt from out the serene ether, and 
seemed likely at first to rob Frederick of his reason. He 
felt his heart now for the first time sicken— sink within 



CAMPAIGN OF ilQ2. PEACE. 371 

him. He had counted on being able, by the aid of 
Czernitscheff, to drive Daun from the heights ; without 
this, the siege of Schweidnitz was perfectly impracticable ; 
and he was not alone to be deprived of this aid, but to 
raise new armies to meet the coming attacks of the 
Russians too : but the elastic powers of his mind soon 
recoiled with a force proportionate to their late tension, 
and his energies, which had been depressed solely by the 
suddenness of the shock, became again buoyant, and he 
now rose to combat once more his. new difficulties. His 
resolution was bold and soon taken. Ere the news could 
have spread, and especially ere the Austrians could receive 
information of it, he dispatched an aide-de-camp to 
Czernitscheff, soliciting an immediate interview. Czernits- 
cheff was at that moment engaged in making his soldiers 
swear allegiance to their new sovereign, and about to send 
a messenger to Daun, to inform the latter of his intended 
separation from the Prussians. He promised the aide- 
de-camp that he would come to the king the following 
day ; but the latter pressed his request so importunately, 
that Czernitscheff decided on accompanying him. Fred- 
erick solicited nothing further of Czernitscheff, than that 
the latter should postpone the withdrawal of his forces for 
three days ; that his corps should remain for this period 
quietly in the Prussian camp ; and that, on the day of the 
battle, they should advance merely in appearance, without 
taking any part in the fight. Czernitscheff was perfectly 
aware how even this act of disobedience to the commands 
of the empress might be visited with the most severe 
consequences ; but no one had ever yet been able to with- 
stand the force of Frederick's eloquence and the penetrat- 
ing glance of his eye. The Russian general was obliged 
to comply with the king's demand. " Do with me what 
you will," cried the latter, at the termination of the con- 
versation ; " Sire, what I have promised you to do, will 
probably cost me my life ; but I would gladly lose it ten 
times over, were that possible, to prove to you the strength 
of my regard I " 



372 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

The three days which Czernitscheff granted him were 
employed by Frederick in a masterly manner, in cutting 
off the enemy from its threatened connection with Schweid- 
nitz. He took all the necessary measures to gain posses- 
sion of the entrenched posts near Burkersdorf and Leut- 
mannsdorf, which were occupied by the Austrians. His 
army was, meanwhile, so distributed, that Daun expected 
an attack on his main body rather than at those difficult 
points ; and in these dispositions the Russians, whom Daun 
still considered as his enemies, and to whom he opposed a 
proportionable body of troops, played their part. On the 
21st of July the mountain-posts were suddenly surprised 
and carried by an impetuous assault. A strong battery 
which had been thrown up during the night in front of 
the enemy's entrenchments, drove the light troops, which 
were to have repulsed this assault, by its hot fire to the 
hills. Then commenced a general storm by the Prussian 
regiments. Neither the precipitous heights covered with 
ramparts, pits, palisades, and cannon, nor the fire which 
issued from forts crowning every precipice, could retard 
the impetuosity of the assailants. From one mountain- 
ledge to the other they pushed irresistibly forward, and 
where the horses could not find a footing, the guns were 
carried by the men. The Austrians were driven deeper 
and deeper amongst the hills, until at length the palisades 
forming the entrenchment of their camp catching fire, they 
were forced back in Avild confusion upon the main army. 
An immense number of prisoners fell into the hands of the 
Prussians. 

Frederick had gained his object, and could gratefully 
dismiss the Russian leader. The Russian officers had seen 
with wonder the desperate plan which the king had formed 
and the devoted gallantry of his troops, without which its 
execution had been altogether impossible. Czernitscheff 
was by the king's side when the latter, towards the end 
of the battle, met a wounded soldier. The king inquired 
of him how matters stood. '* God be praised ! " replied 
the soldier, " all goes well ; the enemy are running and wo 



CAMPAIGN OF 1762. PEACE. 373 

are winning." " You are wounded, my son," said the king, 
handing him his pocket-handkerchief ; " bind your wound 
with this." " Now I am no longer surprised," said Czernits- 
cheflf, "at^the devotion with which your troops serve 
your majesty, as you act so kindly towards them." On 
Czernitscheff 's receiving a splendid present from Frederick 
on his departure, he begged of the person bringing it to in- 
form his master that he now had rendered him unservice- 
able for the whole world, for he should never be able to 
find any other person to whom he was so heartily and 
entirely devoted. 

The danger which impended from Russia soon disap- 
peared. Catherine who, at first supposed that Peter 111. 
had acted an the advice of Frederick, not only in making 
the manv inconsiderate innovations which he had intro- 
duced, but also in the hostility which he had evinced to- 
wards herself, almost immediately after the declaration 
of her opposition to Prussia, discovered from the papers 
of her deceased husband that the contrary was the 
fact. Frederick had not only recommended to the Czar 
moderation in reforms, but had implored him to treat his 
wife, if not with tenderness, at least with respect. All 
hatred of Frederick was banished by these evidences, 
which could not deceive ; the hostile commands were re- 
voked, the former peace was confirmed in all its conditions 
with the single exception that the auxiliary corps which 
had been withdrawn did not return. Thus was Frederick 
relieved of all the anxieties which had of late harassed 
him, and he could now once more turn his undivide ' 
strength against Austria. 

Daun, after the loss of the posts of Burkersdorf and 
Leutmannsdorf, had penetrated deeper amongst the hills, 
and was now completely cut off from Schweidnitz. Fred- 
erick occupied the passes, and made preparations for the 
siege. On the 4th of August the fortress was invested, 
:\n.\ on the 7th the trenches were opened. Two Prussian 
armies secured the besiegers against any attempts at re- 
lief. One of these was commanded by Frederick in per- 



374 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

son ; the other, which had hitherto stood in Upper Silesia, 
was under the command of the Duke of Bevern. But 
Daun was not inclined to leave the Prussians in undis- 
turbed enjoyment of these advantages. He made prep- 
arations for a sudden attack on the army of the Duke of 
Bevern, in the hope of being thereby enabled to effect the 
relief of Schweidnitz, The greater portion of his army 
deployed round the mountain passes, which were as 
speedily occupied by the Prussians, and on the 16th of 
August he fell, in four columns, upon the far inferior 
force of the duke, who was stationed at Reichenbach. 
The Duke of Bevern, although attacked on all sides, bold- 
ly maintained his ground, until Frederick hastened to his 
aid with considerable reinforcements. The Austrians 
were now obliged to retire with considerable loss, and 
retreat back to the hills ; Daun, giving up all hope of 
being able to relieve Schweidnitz, drew off his whole army 
towards the province of Glatz, and remained there, with- 
out giving any further signs of life, during the remainder 
of the campaign. 

The siege of Schweidnitz proceeded, however, at a very 
tardy pace. Within the fortress the defensive operations 
were conducted by the celebrated engineer Gricauval 
whilst the offensive operations outside the town were 
conducted by Le Fevre. Both these officers had distin- 
guished themselves in the science of fortification, and hav- 
ing formerly opposed each other in several controversial 
works, they were now endeavoring each to justify his 
respective theory by brilliant achievements. Whilst the 
guns were day and night sweeping the surface of the 
earth, a peculiar subterranean way was being carried on 
underneath. Winding galleries had been sprung accord- 
ing to the rules of art, and each leader strove to surprise 
or baffle his adversary. They frequently met in these 
caverns, and contended with fire and smoke for the few 
inches of ground that separated them. Le Fevre, on the 
Prussian side, had paid great attention to a newly-discov- 
ered species of shell, which was intended to blow up the 



CAMPAIGN OF 1762. PEACE. 375 

enemy's mines. Several of these shells had been pre- 
pared with considerable care, but their success was de- 
feated by the skilful arrangements of his adversary. In 
fact, the science of both was so completely equal, that no 
progress could be made. Le Fevre became desperate, and 
desired nothing but death, which he courted by exposing 
himself in the most dangerous places. Frederick at length 
grew tired of these unsuccessful experiments. He under- 
took the conduct of the siege himself, and with less artifi- 
cial arrangements, but more skill, brought matters to a 
speedy termination. The commandant of the fortress was 
ready to surrender, provided the garrison was permitted 
to retire unmolested ; but as Frederick would not consent 
to this, an obstinate resistance was still made. 

A few days after Frederick had himself undertaken the 
conduct of the siege he rode so close to the defences, for 
the purpose of reconnotring, that the balls fell close by 
his side. A horse was shot under one of his pages. The 
latter got up quickly, and was about to fly precipitately 
from his dangerous position, when Frederick called out 
to him in a serious tone to take his horse's saddle with 
him, which the page was obliged to unbuckle beneath a 
shower of balls. Frederick's nephew, Frederick William, 
the prince royal, then eighteen years of age, rode by his 
side, and the king had the pleasure of seeing the intrepid 
courage which the latter evinced whilst the balls were 
whizzing round his head. Frederick himself once said, 
on being besought to leave a dangerous position, em- 
phatically, " The ball which is to strike me will come 
from above." 

The besieged began gradually to feel a want of am- 
munition, but still every appliance of art was employed to 
the last. At length well-aimed Prussian grenade put an 
end to the siege. It found its way into the powder-mag- 
azine of one of the forts which encircled Schweidnitz, and 
instantly the half of the fort with the whole of its garrison 
was blown up into the air. The thunder of this frightful 
explosion was so violent that the neighboring hills rocked 



376 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

to their bases. A passage being thus opened into the for- 
tress for the assailants, the Austrian commandant did not 
await a storm, but surrendered with tiie whole of the gar- 
rison, on the 9tli of October, at discretion, and Schweidnitz 
was again in the hands of the Prussian troops. Thus termi- 
nated the campaign in Silesia. The troops were consigned 
to their cantonments ; one section was dispatched to 
Saxony, on which a portion of Daun'sarmy had advanced, 
and Frederick also shortly afterwards proceeded thither. 

In Saxony Prince Henry had again made several success- 
ful attacks on the Austrians and the troops of the empire, 
and in many petty skirmishes had obtained victories over 
the enemy. The army of the empire was forced out of 
Saxony, and obliged to take an extensive circuit through 
Bohemia, in order to join the Austrians ; upon effecting 
which they unitedly strove by a decisive movement to 
drive back the Prussians. Henry accepted battle on the 
29th of October, near Freiberg, and again achieved a bril- 
liant victory, to the success of which, as in the former 
struggles in Saxony, Seidlitz mainly contributed. This 
was the last battle of the Seven Years' War. The troops 
of the empire once more evacuated Saxony, and the Aus- 
trians concentrated themselves round Dresden. It was 
not until after this battle that both sides received re- 
inforcements from Silesia, upon which a suspension of 
hostilities in Saxony and Silesia was agreed on, and both 
Prussians and Austrians entered their winter-quarters. 

Maria Theresa had now but little prospect of success. 
The plans which she had for years cherished had been so 
completely frustrated, that she began to entertain much less 
aversion to the idea of concluding peace than heretofore. 
She found herself still further necessitated to consent to 
a termination of hostilities, as France and England both 
desired peace. The allied army, under Duke Ferdinand 
of Brunswick, had during the first six months of the year 
obtained several victories over the French army, although 
Lord Bute had contributed but little to its reinforcement. 
In consequence of Bute's inclination for peace negotia- 



CAMPAIGN OF 1762. PEACE. 377 

tions were soon opened ; but Duke Ferdinand put a period 
to the war by one decisive act, thus crowning a series of 
brilliant military exploits. On the 1st of November he 
captured Cassel, which the French had until then held. 
Two days subsequently the preliminaries of peace were 
signed, Lord Bute consenting to a disgraceful surrender of 
all the conquests which the English fleet had made in the 
colonies. The allies on both sides Avere to be left to their 
fate. 

In the beginning of November Frederick had, through 
the mediation of the Prince Elector of Saxony, already 
received overtures of peace from Austria, which he gladly 
accepted, but resolved, especially as the conditions of the 
Anglo-French treaty appeared somewhat equivocal as 
regarded him, by energy, decision, and one bold move- 
ment to render the desire for peace general and sincere. 
As the suspension of hostilities included merely Saxony 
and Silesia, he prepared a rapid incursion on the posses- 
sions of the German empire, which had acted with so 
much bitterness towards him. A considerable corps 
penetrated into Franconia, and traversed almost the whole 
of the empire, collecting considerable contributions, espe- 
cially from Nuremberg. A general panic w^as spread by 
this column. We are told thafc-twenty-five Prussian 
hussars threatened the free imperial town of Rothenburg, 
on the Tauber, with storm, and that the latter consented 
to escape the threatened danger by the payment of a 
considerable sum of money. The Prussian troops pene- 
trated even close to Ratisbonne, and the members of the 
imperial diet felt constrained to implore the resident 
Prussian ambassador, whom they had hitherto persecuted 
with unmitigated hostility, to grant them his protection, 
which he accordingly did. Unmolested, and laden with 
rich spoil, the whole Prussian corps returned soon after 
to Saxony. The result was exactly such as Frederick 
had desired. The estates of the empire felt no longer 
any desire to sacrifice their individual interests for the 
sake of Austria. They accordingly declared that they 



378 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

would remain neutral, and withdrew their contingents 
immediately from the army of the empire, in the hope of 
propitiating Frederick. Mecklenburg also concluded a 
special treaty of peace with him. A second predatory 
incursion was planned against the French, who still oc- 
cupied some of Frederick's dominions on the Rhine. This 
excursion was likewise attended with so much success 
that the provinces were speedily evacuated and surren- 
dered to Frederick. 

The first predatory incursion had been of most serious 
consequences to Austria. The cabinet of Vienna had 
pledged itself most solemnly to the empire, not to ter- 
minate the war without remuneratmg the latter for all 
exertions and losses which might be thereby occasioned. 
In consequence of this voluntary retirement of the estates, 
it conceived itself released from the fulfilment of this 
promise. 

The desire for peace becoming sincere, in consequence 
of the exhaustion of all parties, it now met with no further 
impediment. The necessary preliminaries were soon ad- 
justed : three plenipotentiaries representing Austria, 
Prussia, and Saxony, met at Ilubertsburg, and opened the 
negotiation on the 31st of December. On the 15th of 
February, 1763, a treaty of peace was concluded on the 
basis of the former treaties, one condition of which 
guaranteed the surrender of all possessions acquired by 
conquest. The Germanic empire was included in the 
treaty, and Prussia granted the Empress's eldest son, the 
Archduke Joseph, a vote in the election of Roman kings. 
Austria had at first proposed some hard conditions, such 
as that Glatz should remain in its possession ; but Fred- 
erick insisted strictly on everything being restored exactly 
to the position in which matters had stood previous to 
the outbreak of the war; Austria was constrained to 
consent, especially as the increasing deficiency in its 
exchequer and the propinquity of the Prussian army left 
little time for hesitation. 

Thus seven years of indescribable toil, bloodshed, and 



CAMPAIGN OF 1762. PEACE. 379 

misery, had led to no other result than the simple percep- 
tion of the fact, that all these sufferings and miseries 
might have been spared, had the sovereigns repressed 
their evil passions. One can hardly refrain from a smile 
at the vanity of all human plans and calculations; but 
great, infinitely great, results were attained by this war : 
at a period when universal torpor prevailed, the power of 
the human mind, the force of resolution, and unyielding 
heroism, such as the world had not for centuries seen, 
was exliibited to the eyes of men. The German people, 
hitherto without consideration in political relations, and 
sunk from the heights of intellectual eminence and 
research, could, in Frederick, and in what Frederick had 
done for Prussia, clearly perceive what might be attained 
by patriotic enthusiasm, by boldness, decision, and energy ; 
and how a nation might be elevated from utter prostra- 
tion to splendor and power. The Thirty Years' War 
marks, in the annals of the history of Germany, the decay 
of ancient chivalry, whilst the Seven Years' War marks 
its resurrection ; considered in this way, the countless 
sacrifices which had been made were not without their 
value. 

But Frederick, although he might fully estimate the 
importance of the war, could not return home with the 
same joyous Jeelings as after the wars of his youth. The 
seven years of restless anxiety and racking toil which he 
had undergone had rendered him old ; and many of his 
dearest companions had perished during those years: 
writing some weeks after his arrival in Berlin to the 
Marquis D'Argens, he says, " I return an old man to a 
town in which I can recognize nothing beyond the walls, 
where I shall meet no old friend, where countless toils 
await me, and where I shall soon lay my old bones in a 
grave, which may be, perhaps, soon disturbed by war, 
confusion, or malice." 

On the 30th of May Frederick returned, after a tour 
through Silesia to Berlin: the citizens had arranged a 
festive reception for their beloved monarch ; but Fred- 



380 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

erick did not arrive until late in the evening, as he had 
that day visited the battle-field of Cunnersdorf, and was 
probably deeply affected by the spectacle there presented, 
and the memories thereby evoked. He was accompanied 
in his carriage by the Duke of Brunswick and another of 
his generals. From earliest dawn till nightfall the citizens 
had awaited his arrival at the gat^s and in the streets ; 
and he was now received with a universal shout of " Long 
live the king ! " Countless torches lit his path ; but 
these joj'ous acclamations accorded not with his gloomy 
mood ; he escaped from the procession as soon as possible, 
and proceeded to his palace by an unfrequented and 
circuitous path. 

We are told that Frederick, soon after his arrival in 
Charlottenburg, summoned several musicians and singers, 
mth orders that Graun's Te Deum should be performed 
in the palace chapel : it was expected that he would 
appear with the whole court at the celebration, but he 
entered the chapel unattended, seated himself, and gave 
the sign to commence. As the voices of the singers 
poured forth the words of thanksgiving, he leaned his 
head upon his hand and wept. 



INTERNAL RELATIONS DURING PEACE. 381 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

OEUERING OF INTERNAL RELATIONS DURING PEACE. 

Frederick had never at any period of the war, not 
even in its closing years, ceased to labor to be at all times 
in possession of such funds as should enable him not 
alone to defray its current expenditure, but also to cover 
the ordinary charges of at least one year in advance. 
This was one of the most important characteristics of his 
system, and one which enabled him to carry on the strug- 
gle so long and so successfully against such overwhelming 
numbers. True to his system, he had made provision, at 
the close of the year 1762, agamst every casualty, and 
had raised sufficient money for another twelve months' 
warfare; he was, consequently, now that a universal 
peace had been permanently established, enabled to apply 
such accumulated treasure to the alleviation of the mis- 
eries which the war had entailed. His noble endeavors 
in this respect were unceasing ; and he had the happiness 
of seeing that his subjects recovered much sooner from 
the disastrous effects of the war than the greater number 
of his adversaries. Nay, wishing to give the world proof 
of his strength, lest any one trusting to such fancied ex- 
haustion, might feel temx3ted to form new plans against 
liiin, he immediately, after the conclusion of the peace, 
commenced the erection of a splendid edifice, the so- 
termed new palace of Sans-souci. In the course of six 
years he had expended many millions on a structure 
which, to this day, from the expensive materials employed 
in its construction, and the richness of architectural orna- 



382 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

ment with which it is embellished, fills the spectator with 
unqualified admiration and amazement. In the rearing of 
this edifice he had likewise a second wise object in view, 
namely, the giving employment to the thousands of idle 
hands, which the abrupt termination of hostilities and 
consequent disbanding of large bodies of troops had sud- 
denly stripped of all immediate means of gaining a liveli- 
hood ; for the labor and materials of the building were 
almost exclusively drawn from the countrj^ itself We 
may here draw attention to the fact, that this jDalace 
presents a peculiar, although little regarded, memorial of 
the modesty of the great king. He had given orders to 
Vanloo, the painter, to take for the subject of the f)icture 
that was to adorn the colossal marble saloon, which forms 
one of the principal compartments of the palace, an as- 
sembly of gods : the painter conceived the idea of intro- 
ducing a few of the goddesses of Victory, whose office it 
was to be the bearers of the initials of Frederick's name 
heavenward. Frederick, who did not see the painting 
until completed, was not altogether satisfied with its 
execution, but on detecting the introduction of his own 
initials, was so displeased, that he ordered them to be 
immediately effaced; the expensive scaffolding had to 
be re-erected, and as the painter could not alter the whole 
of this gigantic picture, he was obliged to rest satisfied 
with veiling the initials beneath a green drapery. The 
goddesses of Fame bear to this hour this mystery in their 
hands. 

Frederick's sustaining and aiding hand was extended 
in every direction, and his exertions for the reorganization 
of trade, which had fallen into decay during the war, 
were everywhere visible. As the fields lay untilled from 
a want of seed, cattle, and agricultural laborers, he dis- 
tributed amongst the different provinces 60,000 bushels 
of corn and flour from out the military magazines, to- 
gether with 35,000 cavalry horses. He disbanded about 
40,000 of his troops, and sent them back to their respec- 
tive homes. Immediately after the conclusion of the 



INTERNAL RELATIONS DURING PEACE. 383 

treaty of peace, very considerable sums of money were 
paid over to the different provinces, as part indemnity 
for the losses sustained during the war : Silesia received 
8,000,000 of thalers, Pomerania and Newmark, 1,400,000, 
Prussia, 800,000, Brandenburg, 800,000, Cleves, 100,000 ; 
in other places one half of the taxes were remitted. Dur- 
ing a series of years, indeed to the very close of his life, 
his exertions were unremittingly directed to the allevia- 
tion of tlie miseries superinduced by the late horrible 
conflict, and the diffusion of prosperity and happiness 
over the whole face of the land. One of his letters, written 
in the year 1766, and addressed to Voltaire, refers to this 
subject as follows : " Fanaticism and wild ambition have 
desolated the most flourishing districts of my kingdom : 
if you should wish to know the amount of destruction 
and havoc wrought, I can inform you, that I have been 
obliged to rebuild 8000 houses in Silesia, and 6500 in 
Xewmark, which gives, according to Newton and D'Alem- 
l)el't, a total of 14,500 : the greater part had been burned 
down by the Russians. We have not carried on the war 
with such horrible cruelty ; we destroyed but compara- 
tively few houses, and these in the towns which we be- 
sieged ; their number does not exceed in all probability 
1000. Tlie bad example that had been set us did not 
seduce us to an imitation of it ; and my conscience is, on 
this head, perfectly free from self-reproach." 

We have already had occasion to remark, that during 
tlie conduct of the war, Frederick had been obliged to 
have recourse to peculiar financial expedients, in order to 
meet the heavy expenses incurred. These consisted, in 
part, of a gradual depreciation of the coin ; and, in part, 
in the payment of the civil functionaries in exchequer 
notes, which were not convertible into cash until the 
conclusion of peace. Both these financial arrangements 
were decidedly disastrous in their effects, and proved the 
ruin of many families ; but still they enabled Frederick 
to preserve his kingdom free from the overwhelming 
burthen of national debt contracted by all the surround- 



384 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

ing kingdoms during the same period. Every pains was 
now taken to alleviate, as much as possible, the injurious 
effects of those financial measures, and to replace matters 
gradually on their former footing. Modern calculations 
have shown, that great as the individual losses unquestion- 
ably were, yet the collective injury done was by no means 
in the same proportion. The loss sustained in the gold 
and silver exchanges amounted to but a few thalers per 
cent. ; even the coins, which were most depreciated in 
value, had been reduced but twenty-two per cent. ; and, 
by submitting to these comparatively insignificant sacri- 
fices, the people saw the war terminated without the 
incubus of a national debt. The Prussians had indeed 
good cause to feel satisfied with so small a sacrifice at the 
shrine of their country, and had every reason to feel 
grateful to a monarch, to whose wisdom they were in- 
debted for so beneficial a result. 

The heroes who had distinguished themselves by their 
brilliant achievements in the Seven Years' War were now 
amply rewarded for their gallant services, and their merits 
duly acknowledged by their grateful monarch. Such 
generals, officers, and privates as had exhibited either ex- 
traordinary courage or devotion, now received in different 
ways the meed of valor. Frederick, Avhose powers of 
memory were extraordinary, retained a distinct recollec- 
tion of such achievements of each as had been communi- 
cated to him, and the page of history has preserved nu- 
merous memorials of the considerate acts of the monarch 
towards the well-deserving, whose services were fre- 
quently rewarded when the recipients of the favors least 
expected. The monarch's paternal care for the widows 
and orphans of the heroes that had fallen was no less 
memorable and praiseworthy. 

Feeling confident that nothing was more likely to con- 
firm the security of his kingdom, and in a measure pre- 
clude the possibility of a war, than due attention to the 
military department of his govenunent and the mainte- 
nance of a strong disposable force, he omitted no precaution 



INTERNAL RELATIONS DURING PEACE. 385 

for the speedy completion of such military arrangements 
as would leave him a competent and well-disciplined army 
at immediate command. Indeed, tiie articles of peace 
had been hardly signed before renewed exertions were 
made for completing the levies, as if the war were to be 
recommenced that very year. The different fortresses 
were put in a state of repair, and their number increased 
by the addition of Silberberg in Silesia ; the magazines 
were completely replenished ; and cannon, powder, and 
material of all kinds provided in large quantities. The 
army was once more raised to its original strength, and 
as many of the native Prussians had been disbanded, their 
places were filled up by the numerous foreigners whom 
the peace had caused to be dismissed from the different 
European armies. As the discipline had grown very lax 
towards the latter end of the war, no exertion was now 
spared in reorganizing the army on its old footing. Nay, 
the warrior was now raised more than ever to a privi- 
leged class in the state, and a predicate of honor especially 
assigned him. Frederick, in accordance with the military 
relations of the time, was anxious to retain in his service 
only such officers as were of noble extraction. The com- 
moners who had been advanced during the war to high 
military posts were now, somewhat unfairly, dismissed. 
Noble birth was to be fired to patriotism by the exclusive 
character of the service, and ambition and the pride of 
high descent sublimed into heroic devotion for the na- 
tional safety. A dispute as to precedence happening to 
arise between a councillor of legation, Count Schwerin, a 
nephew of the celebrated field-marshal, and an ensign, 
Schwerin appealed to the king, whose decision was to the 
effect — that the matter did not admit of dispute : of course 
ensigns took precedence of all councillors of legation. 
Upon this Schwerin threw up his diplomatic character 
and — became an ensign ! 

The strict discipline which Frederick now wished to 
introduce into his army created very considerable discon- 
tent, and several of the new arrangements were, on theii: 



3S6 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

first introduction, so unpalatable as to render a consider^ 
able degree of severity requisite to their enforcement; 
but Frederick's personal mediation contributed consider- 
ably to lessen a number of these cases. It once so hap- 
pened that some turbulent members of the Potsdam 
guards conceived themselves entitled to certain privileges, 
to which they had really no claim, and resolved on mak- 
ing a demonstration in order to obt lin them, without 
having duly considered the serious consequences to which 
they thereby exposed themselves according to the Articles 
of War. They accordingly proceeded to Sans-souci. 
Frederick, seeing them in the distance, girt on his sword, 
took up his hat, and advanced out on the terrace of the 
palace to meet them. Before the ringleader had time to 
utter a word, Frederick commanded them to halt. The 
whole body stood suddenly still. "Dress up ! " continued 
Frederick. " Right about face ! — march ! " This com- 
mand was jpunctually obeyed. They marched down the 
terrace, intimidated by the eye and voice of the monarch, 
and highly delighted to get off so cheaply. On another 
occasion Frederick acted with still more lenity. A soldier 
in a Silesian garrison, who had made considerable spoils 
during the war, felt dissatisfied mth his present slender 
pay, and betook himself to the expedient of enriching 
himself as of old. He was shortly afterAvards convicted 
of having stolen several silver offerings from an altar ded- 
icated to the Virgin Mary. He denied the theft iDerti- 
naciously, and maintained that the Virgin, to whom he had 
detailed his misfortunes, had desired him to take one or 
two of the offerings from her altar. The court-martial 
found his excuse insufficient, and condemned him to run 
the gauntlet tw^elve times. Frederick, on receiving the 
sentence for signature, considered it advisable to inquire 
of some Catholic clergymen whether such a case were 
possible. The clergymen, in accordance with their be- 
lief in miracles, found themselves constrained to declare 
that such a case, however improbable and incredible the 
statement of the soldier might be, was certainly within 



INTERNAL RELATIONS DURING PEACE. 387 

the limits of possibility. L^pon this Frederick sent 
directions that the accused should be liberated, but for- 
bade him in the most strict terms to accept in future of 
any presents either from the Virgin or any other saint 
whatsoever. 

To alleviate the evils generated by the war and execute 
the numerous projects which the general weal of his 
kingdom seemed to require ; to maintain a numerous 
standing army, and, more than all, to be provided with 
resources in the event of a war, was wholly impossible 
without a greater amount of revenue than Frederick had 
as yet been able to obtain. He much desired to increase 
his revenue to the amount of two millions of thalers an- 
nually, but finding it the unanimous opinion of the mem- 
bers of the privy council that agriculture was too much 
exhausted to admit of further taxation, he resolved on 
introducing certain new fiscal regulations, the results of 
w^hich he probably had not foreseen, but which were, 
unfortunately, little calculated to gain him the love or 
gratitude of his subjects. He had arrived at the convic- 
tion that the revenue derivable from the customs was 
capable of an increase, and should be made much 
more productive than hitherto ; as in other countries the 
crown obtained a much larger profit from this source. 
In France particularly the machinery of finance had been 
screwed to the highest pitch, and the example thus set 
before Frederick's eyes was so seductive that he could 
not resist the temptation of making a similar experiment 
in Prussia. As he felt, however, the want of persons 
sufficiently experienced in fiscal measures of this nature, 
he introduced from France some masters in the art of 
extracting a revenue. The latter were accompanied by a 
host of followers, Avho were to fill the subordinate offices. 
Frederick could not, however, bring himself to adopt the 
French custom of selling to these aliens the farming of 
the revenue, and thus completely throwing his own sub- 
jects on the mercy of foreigners. A board, constituted 
under the name of " General Administration of the Royal 



38S FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

Dues," was incorporated as a distinct department of 
government. The duties imposed were not very high, 
but being extended to every article of consumption, the 
most i^ainful of the consequences was the mquisitorial 
powers necessarily conceded to the officials in order to 
prevent smuggling ; they were invested not only with a 
right of search at the entrances of the towns, but even in 
the very houses of the citizens. Notwithstanding this, 
however, smuggling became daily more general and less 
disguised. Endless annoyance and dissatisfaction were 
excited by the litigious prosecutions set on foot, and a 
general spirit of resistance to constituted authority, and 
corruption of manners were the speedy results of the new 
system of taxation. And, after all, these harassing ex- 
actions produced nothing like the revenue which Frederick 
had expected from them, and which might have been 
readily obtained otherwise, without arousing the ill-will 
of his subjects. 

Besides this increase of universal taxation, Frederick 
sought to raise a revenue by monopolizing the sale of such 
articles as were of most general consumption : tobacco 
and coffee were the most important articles of this royal 
monopoly. Independent of the fact of this system acting 
most injuriously on the general consumption, and thus 
defeating its own ends, its effect on public morality was 
still more to be deplored. 

There was another system, too, which flourished about 
this period in France, in the advantages of which Fred- 
erick was likewise anxioiUs to participate — the secret j^olice. 
The demoralization Avliich had been the necessary result 
of the war, seemed to render such an institution desirable. 
"With this view he dispatched Philippi, a very experienced 
man, to Paris, and afterwards appointed him president of 
police in Berlin. Some years afterwards several crimes 
were committed, without their authors having been dis- 
covered. Frederick took the president of police to task 
for this seeming negligence. The latter explained, that 
he had brought all the arrangements to which his majesty 



INTERNAL RELATIONS DURING PEACE. ^3S9 

had consented into operation, and that he was not author- 
ized to do anything on his own individual responsibility. 
He entered into full details of a system of secret i)olice, 
which would infallibly enable him to detect in every case 
the perpetrator of a crime, but admitted that the moral . 

character of the people would be seriously affected by the / 

system; adding, that its introduction into Berlin must 
be gradual, as the people of Brandenburg were too sincere 
and honorable for such a system. These representations 
had considerable weight with Frederick, who replied, 
Avithout taking much time to consider the matter, that 
he would not attempt to displace a lesser evil by a greater, 
nor disturb the tranquillity or composure of his faithful 
subjects, and thus the project terminated. 

That Frederick — the hero who unceasingly struggled ;' 
during a seven years' contest, and had sacrificed every ^ 
pleasure of life to maintain the honor of his kingdom — 
should have been held in high veneration by his people, 
is but little surprising; but that, despite those serious 
innovations, and despite the pertinacity with which he 
clung to them — that in spite of this he should have still 
retained the veneration of his subjects, is the best evi- 
dence of his real greatness. The people began gradually 
to submit to what seemed necessity, and every one plainly 
saw that Frederick's object in raising his revenue was not 
for the purpose of squandering it in revelry and feasts, 
or on mistresses and favorites, or from a mere avaricious 
thirst for gold; but that it returned in the shape of 
favors back upon the people, and that the monarch him- 
self was as affable, as confidential, as sympathizing as of 
old, whilst no anxious bolt or bar checked the freedom 
of discussion, even when the monarch's acts became the 
subject of animadversion. The soldiers of the Seven 
Years' War told their tales of their faithful comrade, old 
Fritz, and whenever Frederick still came in contact with 
the people his conduct was characterized by the same 
traits as of old : thus the people retained their affection 
for their sovereign pure and unalloyed ; whilst their ex- 



390 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

asperation and anger at the new arrangements was re- 
served for the aliens, who gradually disappeared from 
their posts, and were succeeded by natives. 

There are several anecdotes told, which serve to show 
the place that the king occupied in the hearts of his 
people, notwithstanding the outbursts of dissatisfaction 
which the measures we have just alluded to occasionally 
elicited. One of the principal subjects of irritation was 
the severity with which the royal monopoly of coffee was 
insisted upon, and the extraordinary ability displayed by 
several French agents in detecting the presence of smug- 
gled coffee, obtained for them the sobriquet of " coffee- 
smellers." Frederick happened to be one day riding up 
the Jsegerstrasse, in Berlin, when his eye was attracted 
by a considerable crowd assembled in front of the Fur- 
stenhaus. He dispatched his only attendant to inquire 
into the cause of this gathering. " They have posted up 
something about your majesty," was the answer which 
the servant brought back. Frederick, who had now ar- 
rived quite close to the assemblage, saw himself depicted 
in a most melancholy frame of mind, seated upon a stool, 
with a coffee-mill between his legs, which he was in the 
act of grinding with great assiduity with one hand, whilst 
with the other he collected every bean that chanced to 
fall. As soon as the king got a glimpse of the picture, 
he motioned his hand and called out, " Hang it something 
lower down, so that a person may not be obliged to strain 
his neck to get a look at it." He had hardly uttered the 
words when a universal shout of joy arose ; the picture 
was torn into a thousand pieces, and the king greeted 
with loud vivas as he slowly rode away. 

The affability and ease with which he entered into the 
feelings and met the wishes of those in a subordinate rank, 
was one of the chief means of winning the hearts of the 
people, and innumerable stories still extant, bearing the 
stamp of unadorned truth, acquaint us with the ordinary 
habits of the king, and exhibit his character in a peculiar 
and pleasing point of view. 



ACQUISITION OF WEST PRUSSIA 391 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

FRIENDLY RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA AND AUSTRIA. ACQUI- 
SITION OF WEST PRUSSIA. 

At the time of Frederick's concluding the treaty of 
Hubertsburg he did not possess a single ally of sufficient 
influence to sustain Prussia in her proper position, or give 
weight to her voice in the congress of European nations. 
England had deserted him in such a manner as to prevent 
him from ever again placing confidence in its government. 
His alliance with Russia had been snapped asunder by the 
sudden overthrow of Peter III. It was only with Tartars 
and Turks that he could be said to have maintained, during 
the latter part of the Seven Years' War, anything like a 
friendly footing. The divan had, towards the end of the 
autumn of 1763, sent a numerous embassy to Berlin, in 
full oriental pomp : and, to the great amusement of the 
citizens of the Prussian capital, this body made their 
solemn entry into Berlin, on the 9th of November, bring- 
ing with them costly robes, arms, and splendid horses as 
presents for Frederick. It is said that the sultan, 
through his ambassador, requested of Frederick to send 
him three of the astrologers by whose aid, as the sultan 
took for granted, he had been enabled to work such mir- 
acles during the Seven Years' War. Frederick is said to 
have replied, that his three astrologers were his knowl- 
edge of diplomacy, his army, and his treasury. The em- 
bassy remained in the Prussian capital during the winter, 
and indemnified the inhabitants of Berlin in some measure 
for the loss of theatrical and other representations, which 



392 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

had been dissipated during the war. As the Turks were 
about to return in the f oUowmg spring, several young 
damsels had made arrangements to accompany them to 
Constantinople, and had already taken their places in the 
Turkish wagons, but the police, having by some chance 
got information of the circumstance, arrived just in time 
to seize the fair fugitives. His friendly understanding 
with the divan was indeed of too romantic a nature to 
justify Frederick in neglecting to seek a more powerful 
ally, whose weight should serve in some measure to 
guarantee the security of his kingdom. An alliance with 
Russia seemed to offer very considerable advantages, and 
although steadily opposed by Austria, was not long in be- 
ing concluded, the political relations of Poland affording a 
principal means of expediting its completion. King Au- 
gustus III. had died in October, 1763, and his son followed 
him to the grave a few months afterwards. An infant 
grandson still remained, but it could not, of course, press 
its claims to so disputed a succession as that of the Polish 
crown. Russia had always exerted a paramount influence 
over the affairs of Poland, and had treated it like a depen- 
dent province, and the empress was now resolved on main- 
taining this influence. Polish patriots, alive to the misery 
in which their native country had been by its own acts 
plunged, applied to Frederick, and requested him to 
place his brother, Prince Henry, who had obtained such 
renown during the Seven Years' War, upon the throne, 
in order to work out the regeneration of their country. 
But Frederick saw clearly the dangerous consequences 
which must have necessarily resulted from such an act, 
and declined acquiescence in the demand. The Russian 
empress, finding that Frederick was not altogether op- 
posed to her views respecting Poland, at once concluded 
an alliance with him, in April, 1764. It was stipulated 
that Russia and Prussia should reciprocally maintain the 
present possessions of either kingdom ; each to furnish a 
contingent of 12,000 men, in the case of war breaking out, 
or a subsidy of 480,000 thalers, and, according to one of 



ACQUISITION OF WEST PRUSSIA. 393 

the secret articles, recourse was to be had to every means, 
even force, to maintam the constitution of the Polish re- 
public in its then state, especially the unlimited right of 
suffrage, whigh had been the principal cause of the an- 
archy that had enfeebled and disabled Poland. They at 
the same time selected Count Stanislaus Augustus Ponia- 
towsky as a candidate for the Polish crown, and he was 
accordingly, on the 7tii of September, proclaimed king, 
under the protection of the Russian arms. 

To this newly-created monarch Frederick sent the 
following s]3irited epistle, shortly after his coronation : 
" Your majesty should recollect that as you have received 
your crown by election, not birth, the world will scruti- 
nize your acts more severely than those of any other 
potentate in Europe. And this is but just. In the case 
of succession by birth, which is more or less a casualty, 
nothing further is expected, although, indeed, much 
should be expected, than ordinary abilities ; but from 
the man who has been elevated by his equals from the 
rank of subject to that of monarch — from him who has 
been spontaneously elected to rule over those who have 
elected him — from such a man it is but reasonable to 
require everything that can deserve and adorn a crown. 
Gratitude towards his people is the first virtue which 
such a monarch should possess ; for to his people next 
to Providence, is he indebted for his diadem. A king by 
birth, if his acts be unworthy of his station, is but a 
satire on himself ; whereas a king by election, if his acts 
be unworthy of his rank, reflects disgrace upon his sub- 
jects. Your majesty will certainly pardon me this 
warmth ; it is the result of sincere respect. The most 
agreeable part of the picture is not a lecture as to what 
you should be, but a prophecy of what you will be." 

King Stanislaus Augustus was not, however, at liberty 
to act with sufficient freedom to be able to attend to 
the wise instructions contained in this communication. 
Poland was full of internal commotion. Religious fanati- 
cism had created a terrible gulf between the two sections 



394 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

of the population ; those not belonging to the Roman Cath- 
olic church, and bearing the name of Dissenters, were 
treated with considerable rigor. The claims of these 
latter were maintained by the empress, who demanded 
for them the concession of equal rights. This religious 
acrimony, and the spirit of retaliation thereby engen- 
dered, kept the population in one unending ferment, and 
in order to put a period to the contest Catherine resolved 
to have recourse to an act of despotism. The heads of 
the Catholic party were attacked during the night, seized, 
and transported in all haste to Siberia. But so tyrannical 
an act drove the Polish people to desperation. A rebellion 
broke out in the southern provinces, close to the Turkish 
frontier, and threatened to overturn the throne of Stanis- 
laus Augustus, and throw off the foreign yoke. But 
Russian troops entered Poland; the conspirators were 
dispersed in every direction; the rioters fled to the 
Turkish territory, and the Russians hastened after them 
and laid a Turkish towai in ashes. 

This act of aggression fanned the long smouldering 
jealousies of the Porte and Russia hito flame. The Rus- 
sian ambassador at Constantinople was without further 
preface thrown into prison, and the divan published a 
formal declaration of war w^ith Russia. Frederick, see- 
ing himself dragged, much against his will, into the con- 
test, made every exertion for the maintenance of peace, 
but his efforts proved fruitless, and he accordingly paid 
to Russia the stipulated subsidy in money. The acts of 
the Porte were to the last degree improvident and pre- 
mature — it was wholly unprepared for w\ar, and Russia 
obtained several brilliant victories, occupying considerable 
tracts of the Turkish territory. 

It was, however, impossible for Frederick to view the 
rapid success of his ally without feelings of apprehension ; 
it was to be feared that he might in time be forced to be- 
come, from being an ally, the slave of Russia. He was 
therefore bound to look round for some new confederate 
to restore the balance of power ; and the two states that 



ACQUISITION OF WEST PRUSSIA.^ 395 

had so long warred together were soon allied, linked by 
the ties of identical interests. Austria could as little af- 
ford to remain a passive spectator of Russia's successes as 
Prussia. 

Joseph II., born A.D. 1741, succeeded, in the year 1765, 
to the imperial crown and co-regency of the hereditary 
provinces of Austria. His mind had been completely 
dazzled by the splendor of Frederick's career ; the hope of 
equalling, if not surpassing, his rival in ardor for the 
enfranchisement of the human mind, and thereby trans- 
mitting his name to the grateful memory of distant ages, 
was as fascinating to his imagination as consonant to his 
feelings. Had he but possessed Frederick's calmness and 
discrimination of character, and not been prematurely 
warped from the path he had originally intended to pur- 
sue, he would unquestionably have effected much that 
was great. As early as the year 1766, whilst on a tour 
through Bohemia and Saxony, which he had entered on 
with a view to obtain a more intimate knowledge of the 
localities of the theatre of the great war, he had expressed 
a wish to Frederick to see him and make his personal 
acquaintance; he was, however, iDrevented by Maria 
Theresa and the Grand Chancellor Kaunitz from the 
gratification of a desire which, to them, appeared most 
unseasonable and unseemly ; but he wrote to Frederick 
to assure him that he would, at some future period, take 
occasion to make amends for the seeming discourtesy of 
his conduct. This wish of the youthful Emperor could 
now, in the altered state of things, be gratified, and not 
alone with the assent of his mother, but with her fullest 
approbation. As Joseph always travelled under the 
name of Count Falkenstein, all tedious preliminary cere- 
monials for such a meeting were dispensed with as un- 
necessary Niesse, in Upper Silesia, was the place selected 
for the inter\dew, and Joseph arrived there on the 25th 
of August, 1769, and proceeded straightway to the pala- 
tine's palace, where Frederick had taken up his tempo- 
rary residence. Frederick hurried forward to meet him, 



396 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

attended by the princes of his suite, but had hardly de- 
scended the first few steps of the staircase, when the 
Emperor flew into his arms. Frederick conducted his 
august friend into the saloon. " Xow," exclaimed Joseph, 
" my wishes are at length gratified ; for I have long de- 
sired the honor of standing face to face with the first of 
kings and ablest of warriors." " I shall ever," replied 
Frederick, " regard this day as the happiest of my ex- 
istence ; from it I date the union of two houses, which 
have been but too long at strife, and have need of mutual 
strength, instead of reciprocally weakening one another." 
" From henceforward," added the Emperor, " there ex- 
ists, as regards Austria, no Silesia more." He then gave 
Frederick to understand, that, though he as yet pos- 
sessed but little political influence, still neither he nor his 
mother would ever consent to the Russians remaining in 
possession of their recent acquisitions m Moldavia and 
Wallachia. A convention was also dra^vn up, binding 
both Frederick and the Emperor to the strictest neutral- 
ity, in the event of the war, then anticipated between 
England and France, breaking out, or any similar com- 
motion. As long as this visit lasted the days were passed 
in military parade and confidential intercourse : in their 
walks, the two heads of the Germanic empire were always 
seen arm-in-arm. 

A second and more important interview took place in 
the September of the following year at Neustadt, in 
Moravia. Whilst on his way thither Frederick paid a 
visit to one of his friends of the olden time, (Count 
Hobitz,) at the estate of the latter in Moravia. Hobitz 
had obtained a perfectly incredible reputation amongst 
the friends of artificial gardening in the last century. He 
contrived, by constant training, to supply the place 
of statues by living models, and devoted as many of his 
tenantry and dependents as he possibly could command 
to this purpose. He now strained every nerve to render 
the pageantry of his artificial Elysium as enchanting and 
pleasing to his royal guest as his utmost resources would 



ACQUISITION OF WEST PRUSSIA. 397 

admit ; the meads and dales were filled with Arcadian 
shepherds and shepherdesses ; and in the groves and on 
the lakes the gods and goddesses of classical antiquity 
disported at large. The buildings were so constructed as 
to represent every terrestrial zone ; nor was even Gul- 
liver's pigmy city of Lilliput, with its miniature temples 
and public buildings, forgotten. Theatrical and other 
exhibitions, fireworks, and, in short, every means of 
entertaining or amusing the fancy were put in requisition, 
and the imagination thus precluded from the reverting 
for an instant to the prosaic realities of ordinary life. 

Frederick was highly gratified with his visit to the 
enchanted gardens of Roswald, and did not reach ISTeu- 
stadt until the 3d of September. On entering the town, 
he descended from his carriage, in order to meet the 
Emperor on foot ; but the latter had heard of his arrival, 
and hastened with his suite to meet him. The two mon- 
archs met in the open square of the town. On this oc- 
casion Prince Kaunitz formed one of the Emperor's train ; 
and important diplomatic negotiations were now opened. 
Kaunitz strove to prevail upon Frederick to form a new 
and intimate alliance Avith Austria, and represented 
cordial co-operation between the Prussian and Austrian 
monarchies, as the only possible means of stemming that 
torrent which then threatened to burst upon Europe. 
Frederick was, however, reluctant to break with Russia, 
but promised to use every means in his power to prevent 
the Turkish war, then raging, from leading to a general 
conflagration, and offered to mediate between the con- 
tending parties : his conduct was conciliatory in many 
particulars. As if to test the sincerity of his desires for 
the maintenance of peace, a courier arrived from Constan- 
tinople with a proposition for the mediation of the 
cabinets of Vienna and Berlin in the affairs of Russia and 
the Porte, the latter having recently suffered very con- 
siderable losses. Joseph and Kaunitz were satisfied with 
the conduct of the Prussian king, and testified their 
Avarmest gratitude. 



398 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

Daring this visit to Neustadt, many interesting conver- 
sations took place between Frederick and the members 
of the Austrian suite. Prince De Ligne, who accompanied 
Joseph, has preserved many of the remarks made by 
Frederick, and has given a lively sketch of the elegance 
and tact which always characterized the tone of Freder- 
ick's conversation. "Do you know," said Frederick 
one day, addressing the Prince De Ligne, " that I have 
served in your army ? The first time that I ever drew a 
sword was in defence of the house of Austria. My heav- 
ens ! how times passes ! " He clasped his hands, says the 
prince, at the words " My heavens ! " and assumed a most 
thoughtful and serene aspect. "Do you know," con- 
tinued Frederick, " that I witnessed the last irradiation 
of the brilliant genius of Prince Eugene ? " " Perhaps 
the genius of your majesty may have caught its first fire 
from those beams." " Ah !" responded the king, "who 
could venture to compare himself with Prince Eugene ! " 
" He ! " said the prince " who has eclipsed him ! He, for 
instance, who has been victorious in thirteen fights." 

With respect to Field-marshal Traun, Frederick re- 
marked, " He was my master ; he showed me the errors 
I committed." "Your majesty," replied the prince, 
"proved most ungrateful for these instructions. You 
never, at least in my recoUectoin, allowed yourself to be 
beaten by him out of gratitude." "I have not been 
beaten," responded Frederick, " becuse I have not en- 
gaged him." 

He testified the most especial respect toward Marshal 
Loudon who was also present at Neustadt. He always 
addressed him as Field-marshal, although Loudon did 
not receive this well-merited distinction until eight years 
subsequently. As all were one day sitting do^vn to 
dinner, the remark was made that Loudon had not yet 
arrived. " That is not his general habit," said Frederick ; 
" he is generally on his ground before me." He subse- 
quently bade Loudon sit beside him, as he preferred 
having him on his side to having him opposite him. 



ACQUISITION OF WEST PRUSSIA. 39O 

During the whole of this visit Frederick and his entire 
suit wore the Austrian uniform, Avhite and silver, in 
order to avoid evoking unpleasant memories but too 
intimately interwoven with the sight of the Prussian 
blue, and to make it appear as if he were in the Austrian 
army, and in the Emperor's train. Being, however in the 
habit of taking great quantities of snuflf, slight traces of 
it were sometimes visible on his white uniform. " Gen- 
tleman," said Frederick one day, " you see I am not fit — 
I am not worthy to Avear your colors." 

Of Joseph, Frederick, shortly after his return from 
Moravia, spoke in terms of unfeigned admiration, and 
expressed himself in the following flattering but concise 
manner in a letter to Voltaire : " I have been in Moravia," 
he says, " and have seen the Emperor, who is preparing 
to play an important part on the European stage. Born 
in the heart of a bigoted court, he is free from super- 
stition ; though educated in the midst of ostentation, his 
manners are simple ; though nurtured in the incense of 
flattery, he is modest; though burning for fame and 
distinction, he sacrifices his ambition to filial duty, which 
he is most scrupulous in discharging ; he has had pedants 
for his tutors, and still has suificient taste to read the 
works of Voltaire, and appreciate their merits." 

The negotiations and mediations between the contend- 
ing powers were, meanwhile, progressing but slowly. 
Russia had wrung too many advantages from the Turks 
to be now inclined to listen to rational overtures ; and the 
Sublime Porte refused to acquiesce in the exorbitant 
demands of Russia. Austria insisted on warding off 
Russia from all immediate contiguity with her eastern 
provinces, and armed to give weight to her remonstrances. 
The moment became critical, and a general rupture Avas 
anticipated. Strong apprehensions were also entertained, 
that Poland would take advantage of the crisis, — that 
foreign powers would interfere, — and the torch of uni- 
versal war be once more enkindled throughout Europe. 
Frederick's only wish was* for the maintenance of peace 



400 FREDERICK THE GREA1\ 

and the gradual development of the resources of his 
kmgdom. On a sudden a new and unexpected solution 
of the difficulties, arising Jrom such a chaos of contending 
interests, presented itself. 

Prince Henry, Frederick's brother, being then on a 
visit in St. Petersburg, had already succeeded in obtaining 
the full confidence of the Empress Catherine, when intel- 
ligence arrived, that Austria had taken possession of a i)art 
of Poland adjoining its own territories, to which it prefer- 
red some antiquated and long-dormant claims. On receipt 
of this intelligence, Catherine, addressing Prince Henry, 
made use of this memorable expression : " It would seem 
that in Poland one has nothing to do but to stoop to pick 
up whatever one pleases : if the cabinet of Vienna intend 
to dismember that kingdom, the other cabinets can do the 
same with equal justice." This expression was caught 
up by Henry ; he explained to her how she could m this 
way indemnify herself for such concessions as she might 
consent to make to Turkey at the instance of the other 
powers, and she readily entered into his views ; the ex- 
ecution of the project was rendered easy of accomplish- 
ment from the internal weakness and distracted condition 
of Poland. On Frederick's receiving the first intimation 
of this proposition, it seemed to him as if he were in a 
dream ; but when he had convinced himself of its reality, 
he felt assured of its being, mdeed, the only possible 
means of averting a universal war, and lent the project 
his full support, as he further hoped to be thereby in- 
demnified for the pecuniary subsidies which he had been 
obliged to advance to Russia. Prussia and Russia were 
soon agreed on the measures to be taken, and they now 
applied to Austria to join in this singular compact against 
Poland. The Austrian cabinet, although it had assumed 
the initiative in the whole transaction, now feigned dis- 
approbation of the entire plan, perhaps out of respect for 
Maria Theresa, whose consent it was in reality difficult to 
obtain ; but as soon as it had promised its assent, it began 
to make such exorbitant demands, that the Avhole project 



ACQUISITION OF WEST PRUSSIA. 40I 

of partition was well-nigh being abandoned Eventually, 
after much previous complicated and intricate negotia- 
tion, it was mutually agreed, that each of the three con- 
tracting powers should take such portion of Poland as 
immediately adjoined its own territories, and tended to 
the roundness and compactness of its dominions. This 
ti'eaty of partition was executed in the autumn of 1772, 
without Poland being in a condition to offer any opposi- 
tion to its dismemberment. Frederick exacted the oath 
of fealty from Pomerelle and the other districts lying be- 
tween Pomerania and East Prussia, (with the exception 
of Dantzick and Thorn,) and took immediate and formal 
possession. Each of the three powers produced proofs of 
the plausibility of their demands. Frederick's explana- 
tion referred chiefly to Pomerelle, which was averred to 
have originally formed part of the dukedom of Pomerania, 
and to have been dissevered from the same in the thir- 
teenth century ; he, accordingly, based his claims on his 
right, as Elector of l^randenburg, to the inheritance of 
Pomerania, and to that which had originally formed part 
and parcel of the same. Frederick's acquisition was, in 
point of superficial extent, population, and fertility of soil, 
inferior to those of his partners ; but to him of incalcu- 
lable importance notwithstanding, as forming the natural 
connecting link between the straggling members of his 
kingdom, and giving him, from his possession of the 
mouth of the Vistula, the entire control of the whole trade 
of Poland. Being now in possession of all the old Prus- 
sian territories, Frederick assumed the style and title of 
" King of Prussia, not " in Prussia," as hitherto. 

The Polish diet was forced to ratify the partition, 
though the measure was strenuously resisted to the last 
by all the patriots in Poland. Thaddeus Reyten, who 
had taken the most prominent part in defending the in- 
tegrity of his native land, on seeing all his efforts baffled 
and abortive, became insane. It was with much difficulty 
that Maria Theresa was induced to give her consent to 
the plans of her cabinet. She addressed the following 



402 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

most extraordinary epistle to Kaunitz on the subject — 
the style is as singular as the purport. " When my do- 
minions were on every side assailed, and I really did not 
know a single place where I could lie-in with safety, I 
still relied on the goodness of my cause and the help 
of God. But in this matter, in which not only public 
justice cries to heaven against us, but common prudence 
and sound sense are violated, I must own I never felt so 
uneasy in my life or so ashamed to be seen. Consider 
Avhat an example we set the whole world should we, for 
the sake of a paltry piece of Poland, or of Moldavia and 
Wallachia, fling away our honor and reputation. I see 
clearly that I stand alone, and am no longer en vigueur^ 
and therefore allow matters to take their course, but not 
without the greatest reluctance." On the draft of the 
scheme of partition this high-minded dame ^vrote with 
her own hand the following words : " Placet^ since so 
many great and learned men will have it so ; but when 
I have been long in my grave it will be seen what 
will come of this violation of everything hitherto con- 
sidered holy and just." The whole world was struck 
dumb with sheer astonishment at the occurrence of an 
event which had been hitherto without a precedent in the 
annals of history. Still none of the other great powers 
of Europe interfered ; the dawning struggle for indepen- 
dence in America, and the subversion of the order of 
Jesuits drew off the attention of the world to other 
channels. 

If Ave cannot here forbear paying the tribute of our 
sympathy to this, the primal decadence of a people highly 
gifted and once great, we are, on the other hand, forced 
to seek consolation in what history would teach us to 
believe to be a natural law governing the rise and fall of 
nations. From her we learn that new, and for the most 
part fairer life ever springs from the graves of the fallen. 
Poland fell because it lagged behind the general develop- 
ment of its contemporaries — because arbitrary rule and 
cringing servitude prevailed throughout the length and 



ACQUISITION OF WEST PRUSSIA. 403 

breadth of the land — because no spirit of nationality 
linked the members of its community together ; and Prus- 
sia, by wresting from Poland a tract of territory which 
the latter had originally taken from her, acquired a degree 
of territorial compactness necessary to its own political 
development, and that section of Poland thus transferred 
to the crown of Prussia was speedily elevated from its 
previous barbarism, and participated in those more exalted 
goods of life which were then so highly cultivated 
throughout the other provinces of the Prussian monarchy. 
If our heart refuse its approbation to the measure which 
Frederick conceived himself necessitated to adopt, we are 
still constrained to pay the tribute of our admiration to 
the zeal with which he devoted himself to the furthering 
the welfare of his new subjects, and the glorious task of 
making half a million of human beings happy. He hur- 
ried in person, in the summer of 1772, to West Prussia, in 
order to make the necessary dispositions on the spot. 
Where confusion and absence of all justice had hitherto 
reigned, a wise and well-ordered administration of the 
law was speedily introduced, rendering life and property 
everywhere secure ; a period was put to the degrading 
bondage of the serf and the barbarities of martial law ; 
numerous schools were founded, in the hope of rousing 
the people from their moral torpor, and awakening them 
to a sense of the dignity of human nature ; admirable 
arrangements were made to prevent the propagation of 
infectious diseases, which had frequently spread the most 
frightful ravages amongst both the population and their 
cattle. In fine, no exertion was spared to promote in- 
dustry and commerce ; colonists were settled on the waste 
lands, and the erection of a post-office for the transmis- 
sion of correspondence was a new but grand boon. 

The good feeling existing between Prussia and Russia, 
which had been in some degree disturbed by the compli- 
cated questions arising out of the partition, as to the 
relative portions of territory to be had by the respective 
parties, was soon cemented through tlie aid of diplomatic 



404 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

agents, and became more and more cordial. Prince 
Henry of Prussia happening to be on a second visit to St. 
Petersburg, in 1776, when the youthful wife of the Grand 
Duke Paul died, his conduct on the occasion was sucli as 
to win him the affection and confidence of the whole im- 
perial court, and as the empress was desirous that the 
Grand Duke Paul should be speedily re-married, he took 
occasion to propose a princess of Wurtemberg ; (her 
mother was a princess of Brandenburg- Schwedt;) and 
his selection meeting with the empress's full approbation, 
arrangements were immediately made for an interview 
between the grand duke and the princess, to take place 
in Berlin, in which latter city they were to be formally 
affianced. 

The preparations made by Frederick for the reception 
of his high guest were on an unusual scale of splendor. A 
special embassy was dispatched to receive him on the 
Prussian frontier, and every effort made to give the Prus- 
sian capital a gay and festive aspect, and as Frederick's 
ordinary household was extremely scanty, a number of 
supernumerary pages and lackeys were engaged for the 
occasion. The grand duke arrived, and made his brilliant 
entry into Berlin on the 21st of July ; Frederick pro- 
ceeded from his palace to meet him. " Sire," said Paul 
Petrowich, addressing the Prussian monarch, "I have 
come from the depths of the North to these more favored 
regions for no other purpose than to assure you of the 
strength of that affection which shall ever form the bond 
of unity between our respective realms, and to gratify 
the ardent desire I feel to see that princess who is destined 
to ascend the throne of the Muscovites. Permit me 
further to assure you that the fact of my thus receiving her 
from your hands must endear her still more to ihe and 
the nation which she is one day to govern. I have 
now, at length, an opportunity of gratifying a wish which 
I have so long and so ardently cherished, of being able to 
gaze upon him who is at once the greatest hero of his 
age, the wonder of his time, and will form the envy of pos- 



ACQUISITION OF WEST PRUSSIA. 405 

terity." " I but little deserve," replied Frederick, " this 
flattering eulogiuin : you see in me nothing but a feeble 
old man ; but of this you may rest assured, that I shall 
ever regard it as a subject of pride and gratulation to 
have thus received within these walls the worthy heir of 
a mighty empire — the son of my best friend, the great 
Catherine." Then turning to Count Romanzoflf, who had 
won the splendid victories over the Turks, and was in 
the grand duke's train, he addressed him : " Conqueror of 
the Ottomans ! I bid you welcome ! I find a strong resem- 
blance between you and my General Winterf eldt." " Sire," 
replied the Russian field-marshal, " it is but too flattering 
to me to be held to resemble one who has achieved such 
distinction in Frederick's service." " Oh ! " said Fred- 
erick, " you can rest your fame on those brilliant victories, 
which will immortalize your name to the most distant 
ages." The ceremonials of betrothal were performed on 
the second day after the arrival of the grand duke. The 
visit proved one unbroken round of revelry and feasting. 



406 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 



CHAPTER XL. 

Frederick's solicitude for germaxy. — the bavarian 

WAR OF succession. THE PRINCES' LEAGUE. 

Really anxious for the peace and welfare of his people, 
lie would have thought himself but too fortunate had he 
been able to devote the whole undivided energies of his 
mind, during the remainder of his life, to the calm ad- 
ministrative duties of his station. Seeing, however, that 
sooner or later circumstances, growing out of the then 
state of things, must arise, highly perilous to that emi- 
nence to which he had raised his kingdom, he at once 
flew to arms, ^vith all the buoyant energy of his youth, 
resolved to be found prepared in the hour of danger for 
such conjunctures as might arise. 

It had been for centuries suspected that the imperial 
house of Austria aimed at turning the shadow of power, 
which the titular distinction of Emperor conferred on the 
Austrian sovereign, into a realty, and degrading the in- 
dependent princes of the Germanic empire into tributary 
vassals, and that it awaited but a favorable opportunity 
for attemping the realization of its ambitious schemes. 
Of the correctness of these suspicions Frederick could 
not entertain a doubt, and the impassioned, aspiring tone 
of the present youthful emperor's mind was of itself 
amply sufficient to awaken apprehensions of this nature. 
Whilst conversing with one of his generals, Frederick 
remarked, pointing to the Emperor's portrait, which lay 
before him on a chair in his private chamber, " I have 
placed this picture right in view : this is a young man 



FREDERICK'S SOLICITUDE FOR GERMANY. 407 

"whom I dare not lose sight of. Joseph has head, and 
might effect much ; it is a pity for his own sake that 
he takes his second step before he has taken the first." 
These few words contain a perfect ^solntion of the tragic 
end which the youthful Emperor subsequently met. 

Several opportunities had already occurred for vindicat- 
ing the rights of the German ]3rinces against the aggrandiz- 
ing spirit of Austiia, nor had these been left by Frederick 
unemployed. Hitherto, however, nothing beyond remon- 
strance and negotiation had been resorted to ; but on 
Austria's attempting to enforce claims, which threatened 
to sap the very foundation of the existing imperial con- 
federacy, Frederick saw the necessity of having recourse 
to some more energetic measures. 

Maximilian Joseph, Prince Elector of Bavaria, died sud- 
denly, on the 30th of December, 1777, and with him the 
royal family of Pfalz-Bavaria became extinct. . The suc- 
cession now reverted, of undisputed right, to Charles 
Theodore, Prince Elector of Pfalz, to whom, as having no 
legitimate issue, Charles, Duke of Pfalz- Zweibriicken, 
stood next in succession. Under these circumstances 
Austria, which had long coveted the possession of Bavaria, 
interfered, advanced some antiquated claims and un- 
founded pretensions, and entering Lower Bavaria and 
Upper Pfalz with an armed force, terrified Charles Theo- 
dore, who was much concerned for the future fate of his 
numerous illegitimate progeny, into a compromise, and 
the surrender of one half of his inheritance. Prince 
Charles of Pfalz-Zweibriicken, whose consent was alto- 
gether essential to the validity of the contract, had not 
been consulted, as Austria anticipated no great difficulty 
in procuring his subsequent acquiescence. 

A proceeding so arbitrary was clearly an infringement 
of the fundamental laws of the empire, and if this act 
were allowed to pass unchallenged no member of the 
Imperial Confederacy would be for a moment safe against 
similar aggressions. Frederick decided on becoming the 
champion of the rights of the Germanic princes. He dis- 



iOS FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

patched a formal declaration to the prince elector, stating 
that he, as a member of the Germanic empire and a con- 
tracting party to the treaty of Ilubertsburg, was mani- 
festly wronged and injured in his rights by this dismem- 
berment of a principality. Hereupon Duke Charles, who, 
from supposing himself too feeble for resistance, had 
already made up his mind to succumb to the mandates of 
Austria, now entered, at Frederick's instance, a formal 
protest, and was assured by Frederick that the claims of 
himself and those of his family should be maintained to 
the last against the encroaching and ambitious spirit of 
Austria. Saxony and Mecklenburg also claimed mterests 
in the matter, and their claims, though subordinate, were 
unquestionably valid. France and Russia, though not 
unfavorable to Frederick's cause, could not interfere. 

All diplomatic negotiations with the Emperor proved 
abortive. Austria seemed nowise disposed to release from 
its grasp any portion of its newly-acquired possessions ; 
on the contrary, troops were concentrated in Bohemia to 
resist any armed intervention on the part of Prussia. On 
matters assuming this complexion, Frederick, although 
in his sixty-seventh year, decided promptly on resisting 
force with force, as no other alternative was now left him. 
He accordingly drew his army together, and divided it 
into two corps, one of which was to advance through 
Silesia, whilst the other penetrated through Saxony. 
After holding a general muster of his troops in Berlin, 
he thus addressed the assembled general officers of his 
army : " Gentlemen, most of us have served together from 
our boyhood, and grown gray in the service of our coun- 
try we know one another well— we have shared the 
cares and toils of war together — and I am firmly con- 
vinced that you are as unwilling to shed human blood as 
I am. But my kingdom is in danger : as king, it is my 
bounden duty to protect my subjects, and adopt the most 
energetic, decisive, and efficacious means to dispel the 
storm that threatens to burst above our heads. It is in 
the execution and carrying out of this great principle 



FREDERICK'S SOLICITUDE FOR GERMANY. 409 

that I count upon your alacrity in seconding my views, 
remembering also that attachment to my own person 
which you have ever exhibited, and which has never yet 
been without its great results. Of this you may also 
rest assured, that I shall ever acknowledge with gratitude 
such services as you may render to your king and coun- 
try. I have but one request to make of you, and that is, 
that you never lose sight of clemency, even though the 
enemy be completely in your power ; and that you insist 
on the troops under your orders observing the strictest 
discipline. I am now about to start for the seat of war. 
I do not, however, intend to travel as a king ; expensive 
and splendid equipages have no charm for me ; but as 
the infirmities of age prevent me from travelling as I was 
wont when in the vigor of youth, I shall take a post- 
chaise, and you are at liberty to do the same. On the 
day of battle, however, you shall see me on horseback, 
and I hope that my generals will imitate my example." 

Frederick set out for Breslau on the 5th of April, 1778, 
to undertake the command of the Silesian armj^, the other 
corps having been entrusted to the conduct of Prince 
Henry. It was Frederick's intention to break in upon 
Moravia, and had this plan been rapidly executed, the 
Austrians, who were but half equipped, must have been 
attacked at a great disadvantage ; but negotiations were 
again opened with Joseph, and, proving as futile as the 
former, were productive of no other result than giving 
the Austrians time for a complete organization of their 
forces. Abandoning his original design on Moravia, Fred- 
erick now advanced through the province of Glatz and 
entered Bohemia. The advance guard of the Prussian 
army reached the Bohemian frontier on the 13th of July : 
this incursion produced the utmost consternation in 
Vienna, as no one had for a moment believed that the old 
Prussian king was really in earnest in his military oper- 
ations and demonstrations. Maria Theresa felt but little 
inclination for a repetition of the disastrous results of 
the Seven Years' War, and trembling for the life of her 



410 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

son, who really thirsted ardently for military fame, she 
dispatched, in secret, a second envoy to Frederick to de- 
clare, that she felt fully confident that they were both 
equally unwilling to tear out one another's hair, now 
grown gray from time ; but the terms she proposed were 
such as Frederick could not accept, and all further nego- 
tiations were, after an interval of a few weeks, altogether 
suspended. 

Prince Henry had been, in the meantime, reinforced by 
a Saxon corps, had penetrated through Saxony into 
Bohemia, and captured several extensive magazines be- 
longing to the enemy ; 400,000 men, well equipped and 
abundantly supplied with heavy ordnance, now stood 
face to face on the Bohemian soil. Everything promised 
a great and decisive engagement, but no one single action 
of any importance ensued. The name of Frederick had 
still so terrible a sound in the ears of the Austrians, that 
they did not dare to pass the lines of the impregnable 
entrenchments within which they stood, except for some 
petty skirmish or some foraging fray; and Frederick, 
feeling himself more than usually feeble and ailing, was 
unwilling to hazard unnecessarily his well- won laurels in 
any daring experiment ; he therefore confined himself to 
stripping the Bohemian districts through which he passed, 
of all means of sustaining an army, and thereby drawing 
a line of demarkation between Bohemia and Silesia. 
His personal conduct was, however, signalized by the 
same spirit of intrepidity as of old ; and he exposed him- 
self to the most imminent danger with the same indif- 
ference as the youngest officer in his army. As an in- 
stance of this, we shall mention an incident, which is 
quite in character with that coolness and bravery that 
distinguished him in former days. He had been bled, 
and on the evening of the same day the enemy opened so 
heavy a cannonade, that his presence became, as he 
thought, necessary: mounting his horse, he was pro- 
ceeding to the point attacked, when the vein began to 
bleed afresh. He quietly dismounted, and had his arm 



FREDERICK'S SOLICITUDE FOR GERMANY. 411 

bandaged by a fleld-surgeon who happened to be at hand. 
Whilst in the midst of this operation, a cannon-ball came 
whizzing past the surgeon's head ; Frederick, seeing him 
tremble, remarked with a smile to one of the by-standers, 
" He cannot have seen many cannon-balls in his life- time." 

A scarcity of provisions began now to be felt in the 
Prussian camp. Contagious diseases, want, and conse- 
quent desertion were beginning to thin Frederick's lines 
more rapidly than the bloodiest encounters; he was, 
therefore, left no other alternative, than to retire with 
both his armies from Bohemia, and this he did about the 
middle of September. The brilliancy of his manoeuvring 
to effect this retreat shed no little lustre on his name as 
a tactician. The Austrian army, without venturing to 
oppose his march, merely dispatched single corps to har- 
ass his line of route ; but these bodies were always re- 
pulsed with loss as often as they hazarded an attack. 
During this retirade, Frederick William, the heir pre- 
sumptive to the Prussian throne, distinguished himself 
particularly; he conducted the troops entrusted to his 
command through the most perilous paths, and valiantly 
repulsed the repeated assaults of the enemy's skirmishers. 
Frederick listened to the details of his nephew's conduct 
with unusual satisfaction ; and on their meeting, he ad- 
dressed him with the greatest cordiality, and said, " From 
this day forward I shall cease to consider you any longer 
as my nephew ; I now regard you as my son You have 
done everything that I could have done — everything that 
could have been expected from the most experienced 
general." He then embraced the prince with much 
tenderness. This act of generous affection was the more 
gratifying to witness, as it was well known that Fred- 
erick and the heir presumptive had not been on the most 
friendly footing previously. 

Frederick had taken up his o^vn winter-quarters at 
Schatzlar, in Bohemia, the cantonments of his troops 
stretching away into Silesia ; here he remained until 
about the middle of October, and sought to dispel the un- 



412 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

pleasing recollection of a fruitless and fatiguing campaign 
by various literary avocations. Voltaire had died in the 
spring of the previous year, and Frederick, who had 
long since forgiven him, and had, from the period of the 
Seven Years' War, maintained an uninterrupted cor- 
respondence with him, now composed a discourse in 
honor of his memory, conceived in all the ardor of youth, 
and had it read to tlie members of the Berlin Academy in 
the month of JSTovember following. 

From Schatzlar Frederick proceeded to Upper Silesia, 
and droye back the Austrians, who had begun to annoy 
his frontiers. After occupying some of the towns in 
Austrian Silesia, he set out for Breslau, and there passed 
the winter. The several skirmishes which subsequently 
took place between the two armies led to no decisive 
result. But France and Russia now interfered on behalf 
of the estate of the empire, and remonstrated energetically 
with the Austrian cabinet ; and as the Turks, who had 
hitherto kept Russia employed, had now concluded peace 
with that jDOwer, Austria became apprehensive of an 
armed intervention on the part of Russia, and therefore 
deemed it more prudent to jield at once. An armistice 
was accordingly concluded in the month of March, 1779, 
and peace was definitely signed on the 13th of May fol- 
lowing. The compromise entered into between Austria 
and the Prince Elector, Charles Theodore, was annulled ; 
Bavaria, with the exception of a small strip of territory 
immediately contiguous to the Austrian frontiers, Avas 
restored to its lawful claimants, and the interests of 
Saxony and Mecklenburg duly provided for. 

Frederick, who had sacrificed 29,000,000 thalers, be- 
sides a vast number of men to the object of the war, 
sought no compensation whatsoever, as he considered he 
attained more than an equivalent in having thus given 
stability to the constitution of the Germanic empire. He 
did, in reality, derive far greater advantage from his 
noble conduct, than if he had lent himself to the ambi- 
tious projects of the Emperor. His disinterestedness won 



FREDERICK'S SOLICITUDE FOR GERMANY. 413 

for him the entire confidence and friendship of the 
other members of the empire; and even such as had 
hitherto looked with a jealous eye on the growing power 
of Prussia, began now to regard him and the Prussian 
state as the palladium of German liberty. He was now 
universally honored with the title of the " Great " ; nay, 
in order to distinguish him from others on whom history 
has conferred a similar appellation, he was even styled 
" The One." The Bavarians especially honored him as 
the founder of their jurisprudence ; his picture was 
always to be found suspended in the village alehouses 
beside that of the holy Corbinian, Bavaria's patron saint ; 
and the same lamp frequently burned before both 
pictures. An Austrian officer, happening to observe this 
custom, inquired of the landlord what it meant : " This 
one," said the latter in explanation, " is Bavaria's patron 
in heaven, and this one here Frederick, the Prussian king, 
is Bavaria's patron on earth ; both of them are saints, 
and we, therefore, as good Catholics, burn lamps in their 
honor." 

This Bavarian war of succession gave Frederick an op- 
portunity of performing a noble act of generosity. On 
his learning, in the spring of 1779, that the inhabitants 
of the Bohemian districts, which had been ravaged by his 
army in the preceding campaign, were in great distress 
from a want of seed wherewith to sow the ground, he 
opened his granaries to them, and also gave them the 
option of either purchasing the grain at low rates, or 
taking such quantities as they happened then to need, on 
promise of replacing the same when they should have 
gathered in their crops the following harvest. 

Thus the closing years of his political career lost 
nothing of their former prestige, notwithstanding the 
new and manifold moral and political combinations that 
had sprung up around him. The world lent an attentive 
ear to those wise maxims, to those exhortations to pru- 
dence and moderation, which he occasionally addressed 
to busy nations ; the authority, which his name carried 



414 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

with it, was such as to be sought for to give weight and 
sanction to individual resolves. Thus we find Russia, 
although her interests had again ceased to be identified 
or to coalesce with those of Prussia, and even although 
Frederick had no fleet at his command, soliciting his 
adhesion to a treaty of armed maritime neutrality, merely 
with a view to obtain the sanction of his name : to this 
treaty he became a party in 1781. In the troubles which 
arose in Holland between the viceroy (the husband of his 
niece) and the so-called patriots, he sought to allay the 
asperities on both sides, without, however, presuming to 
interfere further in the internal affairs of a foreign king- 
dom, than by the tender of his advice. He recommended 
the viceroy to assure himself above all things of the con- 
fidence and respect of the nation. " With these," he 
added, " you will, like your great ancestors, from whom I 
also esteem it an honor to be descended, command influ- 
ence and power in abundance." He received a most flat- 
tering recognition of his greatness from the United States 
of America, which entered, in 1783, into the class of in- 
dependent nations. Being desirous of extending as much 
as possible their commercial relations with Europe, they 
solicited Frederick to join in a treaty of neutrality, " as 
the monarch best calculated to set an example to the 
other powers of Europe." To this request Frederick 
assented without hesitation; and Franklin, Jefferson, 
and Adams concluded a treaty with the Prussian ambas- 
sador at the Hague, in 1785, the ferms and stipulations of 
which, based, as they are, on considerations of the purest 
philanthropy, form one of the most honorable memorials 
of which history can boast. 

In the same year Frederick established the Furstenbund^ 
or Princes' League, and thus accomplished the object he 
had in view when he undertook the Bavarian war of suc- 
cession. Joseph, now sole sovereign of Austria, his mother 
having died in 1780, still continued to awaken the suspi- 
cion, that he had not yet abandoned his designs for sub- 
verting the institutions of the empire. These apprehen- 



FREDERICK'S SOLICITUDE FOR GERMANY. 415 

sions were much strengthened by the discovery that he 
had not yet relinquished all hopes of gaining possession 
of Bavaria, notwithstanding the recent treaty, though his 
object was now to be carried not by force of arms, but by 
the aid of Russia and France. Charles Theodore, the 
Prince Elector of Pfalz-Bavaria, was required to exchange 
his hereditary possessions for the Austrian Netherlands, 
which, with the exception of Luxembourg, together with 
a sum of three millions of thalers, he was to receive in 
lieu thereof. The measure was communicated to the 
Duke of Zweibriicken in January, 1785, through a Rus- 
sian delegate, who at the same time gave him to under- 
stand, that as Russia and France approved of the ex- 
change, any resistance on his part would not avail. The 
matter created a great sensation, not so much from the 
circumstance of the terms of the exchange being so mon- 
strously disadvantageous to Bavaria, as from this being 
regarded as the first step on the part of Austria to future 
aggrandizements. It was rumored that a similar offer 
had been made to the Duke of Wurtemberg, to exchange 
his possessions for Modena ; and the mind readily pictured 
to itself the gradual merging of all the small principalities 
of Southern Germany in the overwhelming sovereignty of 
Austria. The Duke of Zweibriicken protested, and again 
had recourse to Frederick, who immediately remonstrated 
loudly with the Russian cabinet on the illegality of 
Joseph's conduct ; and the Empress Catherine was there- 
by induced to declare that her sanction had been obtained 
solely on the assumption that the exchange of territory 
was to be the free act of both parties. France published 
a declaration to the same effect ; and Joseph himself was 
constrained not only to abandon the project, but even to 
declare likewise, that he had never, from the first, for a 
moment contemplated anything more than a purely vol- 
untary exchange. 

This equivocal conduct on the part of Austria made a 
deep impression ; and although this last attempt had been 
so easily baffled, yet it seemed a matter of prudence that 



416 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

some effective measures should be taken to prevent the 
recurrence of similar efforts, curb this spirit of encroach- 
ment, and protect the subordinate princes of the empire 
from aggression. This subject had long engaged Fred- 
erick's most serious thoughts, and he had even submitted, 
twelve months previously, for the approval of his counsel- 
lors, the draft of a plan for leaguing together the several 
members of the Germanic empire for one common end, sim- 
ilar in its spirit and provisions to the many confederacies 
that had subsisted centuries before. The Bavarian dispute 
induced him to mature his deliberations and to bring them 
into speedy operation. Saxony and Hanover were the 
first solicited to join the league. They gave in their ad- 
hesion on the 23d of July, and the greater number of the 
other regents throughout Germany soon after joined the 
confederacy unsolicited. 

Thus had Frederick, shortly previous to the termination 
of his lengthened career, bequeathed to his kingdom, and 
to his whole native land, a noble bequest, the Furstenbund^ 
a guarantee of international strength and lasting peace ; 
at least, as far as human foresight could control the fate 
of nations. Who could have then dreamed that a new 
era was about to open with his death — a new chapter in 
the history of states ; that a few years would suffice to 
bring forth the most awful convulsions ; and that from 
thenceforward the policy of nations was about to assume 
a completely different aspect! Frederick brought his 
period of jjolitical activity to a worthy termination : he 
could now close his eyes in the unruffled composure of a 
noble self-satisfaction. 

But before referring to his last moments, we must pause 
to bestow a few passing words on his internal administra- 
tion ; — on those remedies which he applied to heal the 
wounds inflicted by protracted warfare on the social rela- 
tions of his people. 



FREDERICK S INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 417 



CHAPTER XLI. 

Frederick's internal administration from the period 
OF the seven years' war. 

Devoting the utmost energies of his mind to the in- 
ternal government of his kingdom, from the moment of 
his so gloriously terminating the Seven Years' War, Fred- 
erick had recourse to his old partition of time amongst 
his several avocations, and allotted to the hours of each 
day their respective and stated objects, including both the 
official engagements of his high calling, and the intellect- 
ual enjoyments of the philosopher. He would at one time 
guide the machine of state from his rural retreat in Pots- 
dam, at another examine with his own eyes into the work- 
ing of each law, and take personal cognizance of each act. 
It was his master-mind that up to the hour of his death 
infused life and vigor into the organization of his many- 
membered state — it was his hand that held all the reins 
of government, and gave every force its due direction. 

But before casting a retrospective glance at the admin- 
istrative activity of the Great King, it is absolutely 
necessary that we disengage our minds from their present 
impressions — that we abstain from taking the present 
standard of intelligence and experience as the criterion 
by which to judge of the soundness of his political views. 
Frederick stood on the threshold of a new era. He con- 
ceded a larger amount of intellectual liberty than had 
ever been previously granted, and he accorded to all his 
subjects perfect ecjuality before the judicial bench. But 
it is only in such generalities that we find him paving 
the way for the new era: he carefully abstained from 



41 S FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

removing those barriers which he had found erected; 
and his conservative tendency was even so decided as to 
render him desirous of confining the activity of his sub- 
jects within certain narrowly prescribed limits. It is 
very possible that he may have been induced to adopt 
this course from the circumstance of his having inherited 
from his father such perfect state-mechanism as it would 
have been difficult to supersede with advantage, and 
which was eminently calculated to give full play and 
ample scope to the preponderance of his own genius. He 
was thereby enabled to exercise unlimited power in a 
greater degree than history informs us of having else- 
where existed. In the latter years of his life, as is always 
the case, this unlimited authority became more obtrusive. 
But though the political development of his people was, 
unquestionably, thereby retarded, still the pure and active 
regard for their welfare which he ever evinced — the 
aiding hand which he always held extended— and the 
untiring zeal mth which he labored for the completion of 
his great task — largely neutralized the noxious influences 
of the spirit of political tutelage which he labored to 
organize. 

It is thus, and thus alone, that we can at all comprehend 
or explain the strict lines of demarkation he so sedulously 
strove to perpetuate between the different classes of 
society, and the pains he bestowed on propping up dis- 
tinctions which had begun to be levelled towards the 
latter end of his reign. Nobles, citizens, and peasants, 
each in their prescribed sphere, were to labor severally 
for the common weal : neither was to infringe upon the 
prerogatives of the other. The nobles were to main- 
tain their position as the first class in the state; the 
highest posts in the government and the most distin- 
guished rank in the army were to belong exclusively to 
this order : in accordance with this high calling, the 
noble was not to degrade his mind by mercantile specu- 
lation ; his rank was to be maintained by the possession 
of large landed property. As, however, many of the 



FREDERICK'S INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 419* 

nobles had begun to prefer commercial opulence to aris- 
tocratic poverty, every possible provision was made to 
prevent them from parting with their estates. The sale 
of knights' holdings to commoners was first impeded and 
subsequently interdicted altogether. Large sums of money 
were freely advanced by the king, to be laid out in im- 
proving the estates of the nobles. Their sunken credit 
Avas also raised by the subsequent introduction of a 
system, according to which the money raised on estates 
in any particular province could be levied upon the whole 
district. Several other institutions, such as Military Col- 
leges and Knights' Academies, were likewise introduced, 
with a view to sustain the influence of the noble order. 

Entertaining such views as these, it is easy to under- 
stand how zealously he labored for the advancement of 
agriculture ; but these labors brought him into immediate 
connection with the third estate — the peasants — to whose 
interests he paid particular attention, as he considered 
the distance of this order from the throne rendered the 
monarch's personal interference in their behalf a matter 
of necessity. He did not, however, venture, though he 
would not tolerate anything like feudal servitude within 
his realm, to interfere with the relations then existing 
between the peasant and his lord, as he feared the effects 
of every curtailment of prerogative belonging to an order 
which he desired to see privileged. Of course his en- 
deavors to raise agriculture to anything like its proper 
elevation proved altogether abortive in consequence. But 
he made this deficiency in a manner good by introducing 
a vast number of immigrants from abroad, amongst whom 
he parcelled out the waste lands, and to whom he lent 
every assistance in his power. Nothing, indeed, afforded 
a higher gratification to his heart than to gaze upon what 
had once been a wilderness, now converted by his agency 
into a garden. The sums of money which he devoted to 
these and kindred purposes were incalculable. Previous 
to the outbreak of the Seven Years' War he had drained 
several morasses and swamps, and he now extended the 



420 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

blessings of drainage and irrigation to all the provinces 
of his kingdom. He raised dams to prevent inundations, 
strengthened the sand- barriers, and rendered them capable 
of supporting vegetable life. He interested himself in 
the minutest details pertaining to these subjects, and many 
of the conversations he held with the provincial authorities 
during his tours have been rescued from oblivion, and 
are frequently of unusual interest. Some of those smil- 
ing meadows that now gladden the eye and produce rich 
harvests to their owners are indebted to him for their 
existence. 

Having thus circumscribed the spheres of action of the 
nobility and peasantry, he revived the mediaeval restric- 
tions of guilds and corporations to control the rights of 
citizenship. But even in the changes that he himself at- 
tempted to introduce he was swayed and fettered by his 
regard for existing institutions. He lent much of his in- 
fluence, however, to nurse manufacturing industry ; and he 
both advanced large sums of money, and imposed high 
protective duties to attain this object. The manufacture 
of porcelain enjoyed his special patronage, and this branch 
of industry was soon, under his fostering care, able to 
compete with the productions of Saxony. He displayed, 
indeed, a particular penchant for porcelain, and in order 
to encourage its manufacture he ordered a grand dinner- 
service for his own use, and employed porcelain largely 
in making presents. Formerly, as often as he visited the 
carnival in Berlin he used to bring with him a large 
number of snuff-boxes, for presents, which were borne m 
two chests on the back of a dromedary that had been 
presented to him by General TJzernitscheff, during the 
Seven Years' War. With a view to the promotion of 
commerce and trade within his dominions he paid much 
attention to internal navigation, and amongst other works 
which remain to the present day to attest the important 
benefits he conferred on his country, we shall only men- 
tion the Bromberg Canal, connecting the rivers Oder and 
Vistula, 



FREDERICK'S INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 421 

Though now gradually sinking beneath the weight of 
years, his ardor for the welfare of his subjects does not 
seem to have in any degree abated, and we find him as 
busy as ever in relieving the distresses and administering 
to the wants of the needy and afflicted of all classes. He 
provided in seasons of plenty against seasons of scarcity, so 
that his people might not suffer from their own improvi- 
dence. Thus, in the year 1770, the crops proving extraor- 
dinarily abundant, so much so that the peasants were in 
some instances obliged to allow the corn to rot in the 
ground from want of buildings to store it up, Frederick 
filled all his vast magazines, and was thus enabled in 1771, 
which proved a year of unusual scarcity, to retail at low 
prices, and distribute amongst the poor the corn he had so 
treasured up. Many thousands died of famine during that 
year in the adjoining kingdoms, whilst, so far from any 
one perishing of want in Prussia, whole hosts of foreigners, 
who sought refuge there, had their wants liberally and 
promptly relieved. 

On the occasion of a disastrous fire desolating the town 
of Greiffenberg, in Silesia, Frederick immediately placed 
very considerable funds at the disposal of the magistracy, 
to assist them in rebuilding the town. The following- 
year, as he was proceeding on a tour of inspection through 
Silesia, the corporation of Greiffenberg sent a deputation 
to wait on him in Hirschberg, and express their gratitude. 
Frederick happened to be seated at a table, with the 
Prince of Prussia and two aides-de-camps, when the dep- 
utation entered. The spokesman of the delegates thus 
addressed him : " We render unto your majesty, in the 
name of the inhabitants of Greiffenberg, our humble 
thanks for the most gracious gift which your majesty 
deigned to bestow in aid, and to assist us in rebuilding 
our homes. The gratitude of such dust as we are is, as 
we are aware, of no moment or value. We shall, how- 
ever, implore of God to grant your majesty his divine 
favors in return for this your royal bounty." At these 
•words the tears started in Frederick's eyes, and he uttered 



422 FKEDERICK THE GREAT. 

the memorable words : " You have no occasion to return 
me any thanks. I am bound to aid my distressed sub- 
jects — it is for that I am here." 

By the erection of numerous buildings he continued 
not only to beautify his capital, but also to give employ- 
ment to numbers. To the list of noble edifices raised by 
him in his latter days belong the Library and the huge 
Gens-d'arm Towers in Berlin. One of these towers, 
raised in 1780, fell down the following year, but was 
speedily restored, and the whole vast work completed in 
1785. 

The improvements introduced by Frederick in the 
system of popular education were few and unimportant; 
and this is probably the best-founded objection that can 
be raised to his government. But, although it be im- 
possible to avoid acknowledging the justice of this re- 
proach, we must not forget that the many restraints 
which he removed from the thoughts and consciences of 
his subjects paved the way for that enlightenment 
amongst all classes, and that spirit of scientific investiga- 
tion which so strongly characterize the then dawning era. 
He never to the last lost slg'it of those principles of reli- 
gious toleration of which he bad teen in earlier years the 
advocate. However free his own individual opinions may 
have been, he in no case interfered with the religious 
convictions of others. Persons of all persuasions — and 
some of the strictest relir-ious principles — were to be 
found amongst hi:s most intimate friends ; he could but 
envy them the strength of their convictions. He threw 
no impediments in the way, nor even sought to check re- 
ligious enthusiasm, as long as it did not overstep the 
bounds of toleration. The Catholics of West Prussia 
and those of Silesia were treated Avith the same paternal 
lenity and kindness. Nay, out of regard for the bene- 
ficial influence exercised by the order of Jesuits on the 
education of the Catholic priesthood, he tolerated the 
continuance of that order within his states, even after it 
had been dissolved by the pope. The severity of th^ 



FREDERICK'S INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 423 

censorship was during his reign much relaxed ; he showed 
himself particularly tolerant of all satires on his own 
person. The good people of Vienna were on one occasion 
very much offended at an almanac, published in Berlin, 
in which several illustrations, taken from Don Quixote, 
were prefixed and appended to a likeness of the Emperor 
Joseph. Frederick ordered that he should be the subject 
of the next year's satire, and his wish was complied with 
accordingly ; the subjects were in his case taken from 
Orlando Furioso. 

The due and impartial administration of justice was of 
all subjects that which engrossed the greatest share of his 
attention in the evening of his life. Alluding to its all 
paramount importance, he uses the following expressions 
in a letter addressed to D'Alembert, in 1780: "Kings 
were originally the judges in their respective states; 
multiplicity oi business has since forced them to delegate 
this office to others. But still they must not wholly 
neglect this branch of the royal prerogative, and should 
take especial care that the authority so delegated and ex- 
ercised in their name is not abused and perverted to evil 
ends. It is this consideration that compels me to watch 
narrowly over the administration of justice ; for an unjust 
judge is worse than a highway robber. It is the clear 
duty of every one presiding over any society of men to 
secure the rights and property of every member, and en- 
deavor to render each as happy as is consistent with the 
nature of man. This duty I endeavor to discharge to the 
utmost of my ability. To what end have I studied Plato, 
Aristotle, and the Institutes of Solon ? True philosophy 
consists in carrying into practice the wise precepts of the 
philosophers." Frederick was the more sedulous in his 
attention to this matter, as the previous sweeping reform 
had been carried through with too much rapidity to 
allow of its having been perfected in its details. It had 
consequently given rise to many incongruities and mani- 
fest wrongs. Frederick was also very unwilling that dis- 
tinctions should be made in the judicial as in the political 



424 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

administration of his people : before the tribunal of justice 
there should be no orders or castes. Indeed, so far from 
this, he generally became the champion of the poor 
against the rich, and in this spirit conferred on the 
meanest of his subjects the right of applying personally to 
liimself as the appellate tribunal in the last resort. This 
last measure, whilst it secured him the confidence of the 
liumbler classes of the people, was the means of bringing 
under his notice some of the most glaring defects of the 
law. If many of the complaints subsequently poured in 
upon him Avere frivolous and groundless, they still, from 
their number, sufficed to fill him with suspicion, and 
rreate strong doubts in his mind as to the impartiality of 
the judges by whom the laws were administered. De- 
tection in individual instances called forth bursts of such 
violent indignation as to color the medium through which 
lie viewed the great bulk of the decisions. The following 
incident which we are about to detail will exemplify the 
latter part of our statement, and whatever may be the 
opinions as to the merits of the particular case, it had at 
least the incidental advantage of having led to the most 
comprehensive and beneficial judicial reforms. 

A miller, of the name of Arnold, held a mill in Xeumark 
from Count Schmettau, for which he paid an annual rent. 
He fell into arrear, and alleged that a pond, formed im- 
mediately above his mill by a neighboring landed propri- 
etor. Justice Gersdorff cut off the supply of water neces- 
sary for the working on his mill. Count Schmettau sued 
the miller for the arrears of rent, and the mill was sold 
by order of the court. The miller laid several appeals, 
but his suit was invariably dismissed, as being, under the 
special circumstances, groundless. He therefore re- 
peatedly applied to the king in person, who at length de- 
puted an officer, whom he considered perfectly impartial, 
to investigate the circumstances of the case. The report 
of the latter, who may not have inquired narrowly into 
the merits, was strongly in favor of the miller. Fresh 
legal investigations were now, at the king's instance, set on 



FREDERICK'S INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 425 

foot, but led to no other result than the confirmation of 
the former decision. Prejudiced by the representations 
of the officers, and indignant at justice, as he conceived, 
being so long denied the poor man, Frederick referred the 
matter to the Court Chamber in Berlin, with orders that 
the matter be brought to a speedy issue. The Court 
Chamber felt bound to confirm the former decisions. 
Frederick now began to think that the scales of justice 
were influenced by the rank of the respective parties, and 
that the law tribunals were but bent on vindicating their 
proverbial independence, as opposed to him ; he therefore 
resolved on interfering with a strong hand, and thus af- 
ford a warning to all unconscientious judges in future. 
The circumstances alluded to occurred in the year 1779. 
The grand chancellor and three justices of the Court 
Chamber received orders to appear in his presence. They 
found him in his chamber, laboring under gout in the 
hand. On their entrance he upbraided them in strong 
terms with their conduct : " Know ye," said he, " that 
the pettiest peasant and meanest beggar in my realms 
is as much a man as the king. A bench of justices that 
acts unconscientiously is more dangerous than a band of 
robbers : against the one a person may protect himself, but 
against villains who employ the mantle of justice to no 
other purpose than for the attainment of their own dis- 
honest ends and for the gratification of their own passions, 
no one can be safe. Such persons are the greatest rascals 
in the world, and deserve double punishment." He dis- 
missed the grand chancellor with a harsh reproof, and at 
the same time intimated to him that he should not want 
his services any further ; that his place was already filled 
up. The three justices were committed to prison. A 
suit was then instituted before the criminal senate of the 
Court Chamb^, against the different tribunals that had 
previously decided in the matter : the senate acquitted 
them all and severally. But Frederick, by virtue of his 
unlimited authority, reversed their decree, sentenced the 
justices of the Court Chamber to dismissal, to be im- 



426 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

mured, with several others, for a year in a fortress, and 
further, to indemnify the miller for his losses and ex- 
penses. 

The whole transaction, but especially the royal decis- 
ion, created the most unusual excitement. The king's 
uncompromising sense of justice formed the theme of 
praise in distant lands ; and his determination, so singu- 
larly evinced, to uphold the rights of the meanest of his 
subjects, was universally and deservedly applauded. At 
a less distance, however, his conduct produced a strong- 
sensation, and the unhappy objects of royal displeasure 
were sincerely commiserated, though the benevolent in- 
tentions of the monarch were not for a moment ques- 
tioned. So complete was the confidence reposed in the 
purity of his intentions, that no one disguised or dis- 
sembled his opinion of their merit. Every one hurried to 
condole with the grand chancellor, so unceremoniously 
dismissed, and the carriages of the visitants were so 
drawn up as to be within full view of the palace-windows. 
A new Austrian ambassador had arrived from Vienna but 
a few days before, and his hotel being immediately con- 
tiguous to the residence of the degraded chancellor, he 
was altogether at a loss how to explain the conduct of 
the immense crowd of visitants. " In other countries," 
said he, " people hurry to pay their respects to the minis- 
ter who has just received his appointment, but here, as it 
seems, to the minister who has just been dismissed in 
disgrace." Universal sympathy was likewise testified 
towards the unfortunate justices condemned to incarcera- 
tion, and many expedients were resorted to for the pur- 
pose of lightening their suffQrings ; with these Frederick 
in no wise interfered. His conduct in this respect was as 
humane and generous as his intentions were unquestion- 
ably pure and paternal. 

In the room of the late chancellor Frederick appointed 
De Carmer, who had been previously minister of justice 
in Silesia. De Carmer he looked upon as the man of all 
others best qualified to effect a thorough reform in the 



FREDERICK'S INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 427 

legal department, and accordingly commissioned him to 
]3repire the draft of a code of laws and forms of proce- 
dure consistent with the spirit and intelligence of the 
age, and the ameliorated condition of the middle classes 
in Prussia. De Carmer set about his task with vigor, 
summoned the ablest lawyers of Prussia to his aid, pro- 
posed rewards for the best solution of certain legal 
diflBiculties, and thereby eventually succeeded in drawing 
up a code of laws superior to anything previously known 
to modern Europe. Frederick did not live to see this 
work completed, but he is fully entitled to lay claim to 
its merits and excellencies, notwithstanding, as it was at 
his instance and under his auspices that the task was 
undertaken. 



428 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 



CHAPTER XLII. 

Frederick's domestic life in old age. 

Very different from that scene of gaiety and life which 
had once flung its bright but fleeting gladness round the 
leisure moments of the monarch had the domestic circle 
of Sans-Souci now become. Many of those bright stars, 
whose lustrous light had shed a brilliancy on that scene, 
had long since sunk and set forever, behind the carnage- 
covered fields of the Seven Years' War. Most of Fred- 
erick's joys had long since ceased to have any other ex- 
istence than in memory's waste ; — they had vanished one 
by one ere he returned from the storms of war to the 
silence of his solitary asylum. Still his mind loved to 
pause on those happier days, and he would fondly watch 
each ray as it fell back, reflected from that sunnier period 
on his now lone and cheerless path. To perpetuate the 
memory of his departed sister, the much-loved Margra- 
vine of Baireuth, he erected a singular monument, of which 
he speaks as follows, in a letter addressed to Voltaire, in 
1773 : " Be it weakness — be it excessive admiration — 
enough — I have executed that for my sister which Cicero 
contemplated for his TuUia ; I have erected a Temple of 
Friendship in her honor. It stands in a bosquet^ and I 
often go thither to ponder on the many losses I have sus- 
tained, and reflect on the many blessings I once enjoyed." 
The elegance of this marble temple, and the beauty of the 
landscapes with which it is adorned, possess to this day 
an indescribable and characteristic charm. 

To the memories of the many gallant heroes who had 



FREDERICK'S DOMESTIC LIFE IN OLD AGE. 429 

fallen under his command in defence of their country he 
now erected marble monuments. A statue of Schwerin, 
which had been commenced under his orders during 
the Seven Years' War, was subsequently completed and 
erected, in the year 1769, in the Wilhelmplatz^ in Berlin. 
Others of Seidlitz, Keith, (who had fallen at Hochkirch,) 
and Winterfeldt were subsequently raised on the place. 
Zieten, who died but a few months before Frederick, re- 
ceived this mark of honor from Frederick's successor ; and 
to these five a sixth statue was at a later period added, in 
honor of the victor of Kesselsdorflf, Prince Leopold of 
Anhalt-Dessau. 

Down to the period of the Bavarian war of succession 
there had still remained to Frederick a few of his more 
intimate friends, with whom he could talk over the past, 
and cull such flowers as shot forth in the autumn of his 
life. The Marquis D'Argens, who had remained so faith- 
ful to Frederick during the Seven Years' War, and had 
written so powerfully in his defence, found, as he advanced 
in years, the climate of Prussia too rude and cold, and began 
to long for the genial warmth of his native land — the 
lovely Provence. Frederick was constrained to grant 
him leave of absence, and the marquis retired thither in 
1764, but as his stay was becoming too protracted, Fred- 
erick was necessitated to have recourse to a peculiar arti- 
fice to hasten his return. With this view he accordingly 
issued a pastoral letter, in the name of the Archbishop 
of Aix, denouncing all Free-thinkers in general and the 
marquis in particular, and transmitted several copies to 
persons of D'Argens' acquaintance. This ruse had the de- 
sired effect ; the marquis found it impossible to remain 
any longer in his native land, and hurried back to Fred- 
erick. Some years later he again began to feel a yearning 
for home, and requested permission to retire thither. This 
request, however, Frederick peremptorily refused, and 
the marquis conceiving his detention to be mainly in con- 
sequence of his having several of Frederick's confidential 
letters in his possession, folded them up and returned 



430 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

them with a further entreaty for permission to retire. 
Frederick was deeply affected, and granted the request, 
but sent the letters in the packet unopened, as he had re- 
ceived them, back to the marquis, who, however, left 
them behind him when he again set out, in 1769, for home, 
where he died shortly after his arrival. 

Two others, Fouque and Lord-Marshal Keith, remamed 
faithfully by the monarch's side to the last, and enjoyed 
all those comforts which Frederick, who himself began to 
feel the weight of years, took care to provide for them. 
Fouque, after returning from Austria, where he had been 
made prisoner, withdrew from the army, feeling himself 
unequal to the discharge of its duties, and was appointed 
Provost of Brandenburg, where he accordingly took up 
his residence. He used to pay frequent visits to Sans- 
Souci and when he became too old to travel he was 
visited bv Frederick m his retirement. Frederick was m 
the habit of sending him everything that could sweeten 
the enjoyment of life, such as wines a hundred years old, 
and the choicest delicacies of the table that the royal gar- 
dens afforded. To enjoy the pleasure of his conversation 
in his walks, when Fouque's legs refused any longer to 
support his weight, Frederick had a chair made, in which 
he used to have him drawn along the avenues of Sans- 
Souci, whilst he himself walked at his side. When the 
old man's powers of hearing and articulation began to fail 
him Frederick contrived a species of voice-conductor, and 
an instrument by means of which the other could express, 
mechanically, whatever syllables he found difficult of ut- 
terance. Fouque died in the year 1774. 

The intimacy that subsisted between Frederick and 
Lord Keith, who had been entrusted with several most 
important diplomatic missions during the Seven Years' 
War, was of a still more friendly character. He, too, had 
felt a yearning for home after the close of the war, but 
being then in his seventieth year, on his arrival in Scot- 
land he felt so isolated and lonely that he returned to 
Sans-Souci in 1764. Frederick had a house built and 



FREDERICK'S DOMESTIC LIFE IN OLD AGE. 431 

fitted up for him immediately beside his own in Sans- 
Souci, and Keith had the following inscription engraved 
over the porch : " Fredericus 11.^ nobis hcec otia fecitr 
The most easy and unrestrained intercourse was thus 
effected, and Keith professed himself highly satisfied 
with the life he led in the " Monastery," as Sans-Souci 
was often jocosely termed. "Our father abbot," he 
would say, "is one of the jolliest men in the world. 
But," he would add, " still, if I were in Spain, I should 
consider myself bound in conscience to denounce him to 
the Inquisition as a magician, for certainly nothing short 
of magic can keep me here, where I only see the ]3icture 
of the sun, whereas I could live and die in Valencia." 
Keith had formerly passed many happy days in the latter 
place, and had, as he said, " many excellent friends there 
— particularly the sun." He remained to the last de- 
votedly attached to Frederick, and was generally known 
simply by the appellation of " the King's Friend." He 
died during the Bavarian war, in his eighty-eighth year. 

The monarch's special regard was also extended to the 
aged Zieten, who resided in Berlin, where the king al- 
ways visited him on his coming to the capital. Zieten 
fell asleep one day at the royal table, and some person 
present was about to awaken him, when Frederick inter- 
posed, saying, " Let him sleep ; he watched long enough 
over us." In 1784 Frederick went to Berlin, to the car- 
nival, and Zieten, then in his eighty-fifth year, made his 
appearance in the reception-chamber of the palace. On 
recognizing him, Frederick advanced to meet him, and, 
after welcoming him heartily, assured him that he felt 
exceedingly distressed at his having taken the trouble to 
mount so many flights of steps. Had he known of his 
presence, he would have gladly gone down to him. He 
then inquired after his state of health. " Right good, 
your majesty," replied the veteran ; " I can still relish 
both meat and drink ; but I feel my strength gradually 
decaying." " I am glad," said Frederick, " to hear the 
first part of your statement; but you must be tired. 



432 FREDERICK THE GREAI^. 

standing ; " and he ordered a chair to be brought. Oil 
Zieten refusing to be seated, " Sit down, old father," said 
Frederick, " otherwise I shall go away, as I do not wish 
to prove in any way burthensome to you." Zieten was 
at length seated, and Frederick stood for a long time con- 
versing with him. 

With such friends as resided at a distance he still 
maintained an uninterrupted correspondence and inter- 
change of thought on the most important subjects. His 
correspondence with Voltaire and D'Alembert is partic- 
ularly interesting. But the hand of death created new 
chasms here also. Voltaire died, as we have already 
stated, during the Bavarian war, about the same time as 
Lord Keith. The correspondence with D'Alembert comes 
down as late as the year 1783. 

Frederick's domestic life had, after the close of the 
Seven Years' War, known brief periods of gaiety, in con- 
sequence of the festivities attendant on the intermar- 
riage, in 1765, of the Prince of Prussia with the charm- 
ing Princess Elizabeth of Brunswick. Several guests 
were daily invited to Sans-Souci ; where dancing, music 
and theatrical representations served to entertain this 
select circle of friends. The king used to enter with 
spirit into all these amusements. But the marriage 
proving unfortunate, it was found necessary a few years 
afterwards to have it dissolved, and to banish the princess 
from court. Solitude and gloom soon supplied the place 
of gaiety and mirth. This Princess Elizabeth, who died 
on the 18th of February, 1840, in Stettin, at a very ad- 
vanced age, was the last of those who could speak from 
actual knowledge of the glories of Sans-Souci. 

The outbreak of the Bavarian war determines the period 
up to which musical entertainments, which had so ma- 
terially contributed to invigorate Frederick's mind, con- 
tinued to afford him pleasure. Till then concerts were, 
as of old, regularly held every evening in the king's apart- 
ment. One of these concerts, which took place in the 
month of September, 1770, on the occasion of Frederick's 



FREDERICK'S DOMESTIC LIFE IN OLD AGE. 433 

receiving a visit from the Dowager Electoral Princess 
of Saxony, is deserving of being noticed here. The prin- 
cess sang, and played the pianoforte ; Frederick, accom- 
panied by Quanz, led on the flute ; the Hereditary Prince 
of Brunswick played the first fiddle ; and the Prince of 
Prussia the violoncello. Quanz died in 1773. The loss of 
his front teeth prevented Frederick from playing the flute, 
and once constrained to desist from taking a personal 
part in the concerts they soon ceased to afford him any 
pleasure. 

We have now seen the royal chamber grow gradually 
more and more lonely. The very members of the king's 
own family, and some even in the bloom of youth, dropped 
oflf one by one. He was particularly affected by the death 
of Prince Henry, a younger brother of the Prince of 
Prussia, a nephew whom he had loved tenderly, and in 
whom he had placed great hopes. The Prince died in 
1767, in the twentieth year of his age. Frederick com- 
posed a monologue on his death, in which he gives full 
vent to the anguish of his feelings. Indeed, his estrange- 
ment from his family increased daily. The queen lived 
in the most complete retirement, devoting her days to 
the benevolent discharge of every Christian duty, and 
without having once seen Sans-Souci. She was some- 
times honored with Frederick's company at dinner, in the 
palace at Berlin, during the winter, but no conversation 
passed between them on such occasions. No public de- 

onstration of any kind took place in honor of the fif- 
ieth anniversary of their marriage, which occurred in 
1783. But Frederick took care that every attention and 
and courtesy due to his royal consort as queen should be 
scrupulously paid. She outlived him eleven years. 

Between Frederick and the heir apparent there ex- 
isted also but little cordiality, for which various reasons 
have been assigned ; still he testified no ordinary degree 
of satisfaction at the birth of a grand-nephew, issue of 
the prince's second marriage, which took place on the 
3cl of August, 1770. Alluding to the birth of this infant 



434 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

prince, who afterwards became king, under the title of 
Frederick William III., Frederick, in a letter to Vol- 
taire, speaks as follows : — " I trust that this child will 
possess those qualities which it should possess ; and that 
instead of its proving a scourge of mankind, it will prove 
its benefactor." Writing on the same subject to another 
friend, he says, " An event has occurred of the deepest 
moment to me and my whole house ; and my joy is the 
more heartfelt as it is shared by my whole kingdom. 
Could the latter but share with me the gratification of 
one day seeing tliis infant prince treading in the glo- 
rious paths of his ancestors ! " We are not in possession 
of any details respecting the infant's baptism ; but a 
comparison of the dazzling ceremonials observed under 
Frederick I., with a description which has come down to 
us, of the ceremonies observed on the occasion of the 
baptism of the Prince of Prussia's youngest son, would 
indeed lead us to think that a mighty revolution must 
have taken place in this respect in the habits and manners 
of the age. This latter baptism was appointed for the 
10th of July, 1783. The commanding officers of the 
guard assembled in front of the palace of the Prince 
of Prussia, in Potsdam, and there awaited the arrival 
of the king. Frederick came, attended by the Duke 
of Brunswick, and was immediately ushered by the 
Prince of Prussia into a saloon, into which the officers 
followed him. Here, in front of the princess's chamber, 
stood the young princes, to welcome their grand-uncle ; 
in this room stood also a table, and on it a silver font, 
and at one side a cradle in which the infant lay ; a court- 
chaplain, the nurse, and ladies-in-waiting were also in at- 
tendance. Having passed a few moments in this room, 
Frederick entered the chamber of the princess, and after 
a brief congratulation, returned. Tlie infant was now 
placed in his arms by one of the ladies, and the clergy- 
man dismissed the ceremony in a few words, contenting 
himself with giving expression to the hope, that the 
prince might in time prove an ornament and honor to 



FREDERICK'S DOMESTIC LIFE IN OLD AGE. 435 

that high lineage from whence he came. This done, the 
king returned to take leave of the princess. Before quit- 
ting the apartment the young princess kissed his hand, 
and the younger one, Louis, (who died in 1796,) then in 
his tenth year, kept looking earnestly at his grand-uncle 
with an uneasy stare. " What is the matter ? " asked the 
king. " Is it that his coat does not suit him any longer ? 
Well ! let him put on a soldier's coat, like his brother." 
The little prince, highly delighted with this permission, 
returned his thanks ; and Frederick departed, attended 
by the Prince of Prussia. He then mounted his horse, 
having devoted just seven minutes to the ceremonies we 
have above detailed. 

There was now little to break the placid current of 
Frederick's existence, except the casual visits of such dis- 
tinguished strangers as came to see the great man of the 
age. Many names memorable in the history of nations 
are to be found amongst his visitants. We shall particu- 
larize but two ; La Fayette and Mirabeau. The latter 
was presented to him on the 25th of January, 1785. 
Thus we find the old and the new era linked together. 

Frederick's household consisted of but few persons ; 
his manners were simple and his wants few. The anec- 
dotes told of his treatment of his domestics, exhibit him 
in the light of a very rigid, but, at the same time, very 
considerate master. The following incident is so char- 
acteristic, that we cannot refrain from mentioning it here. 
Frederick rang the bell in his chamber ; no one came ; 
opening the chamber-door, he found the page-in- waiting 
asleep in his chair : he went up to him, and was about to 
awaken him, when he espied a paper protruding from the 
page's pocket that excited his curiosity. He drew it out 
and read its contents. It was a letter from the youth's 
mother, pretty much to the following effect. She thanked 
her son for the assistance he had lent her out of 
his savings : God would assuredly reward him for it ; 
and if he served Him with the same zeal and fidelity as he 
did the king, he would never be in want of blessings. The 



436 FREDERICK THE GRE.4T. 

king, he would never be in want of blessings. The king 
went noiselessly back to his chamber, took a roll of ducats, 
and inserted them with the letter into the page's pocket. 
He shortly afterwards rang the bell so violently that the 
page awoke. " Hast thou slept ? " inquired the king. The 
page stammered out a half excuse and half admission, and 
then thrusting his hand into his pocket, found the roll of 
ducats. He drew it out, turned pale, and with tears in 
his eyes looked at the king without being able to utter a 
word. " What ails thee ? " asked Frederick. " Oh, your 
majesty," replied the page, falling on his knees, " some one 
wants to ruin me ! I know nothing of this money ? " 
" Ho ! " said Frederick, " what God gives. He gives in 
sleep. Send it to thy mother, and tell her I shall take 
care of her and you." 

We now come to speak of the canine companions of 
royalty, those exquisitely formed greyhounds, whose grace 
and agility afforded him so much amusement in former days, 
and in which he continued to take delight up to the hour of 
his death. Three or four of these animals were constantly 
about his person, one being the favorite, and the others 
intended to bear it company. The favorite always lay at 
its master's side on a chair, which was covered with a 
cushion in winter, and slept at night in the royal couch. 
These dogs were permitted to take every liberty, and se- 
lect the most expensive coverlets for their resting-places. 
Leathern-balls were placed on the floors of the different 
chambers for their recreation, and whenever Frederick 
visited the picture-gallery of Sans-Souci, or strolled about 
the gardens, they were his constant companions. They 
even accompanied him to the carnival in Berlin ; and on 
such occasions they rode in a coach drawn by six horses, 
and were attended by a groom-in- waiting. It is said that 
this groom u§ed to sit with his back to the horses rather 
than disturb his canine charge, and that his conversa- 
tional tone, when addressing them, was scrupulously free 
from anything like an approach of familiarity. Beside 
the statue of Flora in Sans-Souci, the spot designed by 



FREDERICK'S DOMESTIC LIFE IN OLD AGE. 437 

Frederick for his own grave, his favorite dogs lie buried ; 
marble slabs, inscribed with their respective names still 
mark their graves. 

Frederick displayed likewise a particular regard for his 
favorite chargers. He took great care that they should 
be well treated, and assigned them, according to their re- 
spective characters and capabilities, the names of distin- 
guished contemporaries. Thus Briihl, Choiseul, Kaunitz, 
Pitt, were amongst the number of his favorite steeds. 
One bearing the title of Lord Bute was obliged to atone 
for the faults of his namesake ; and when England broke 
from Prussia in 1762 and joined France, Lord Bute was 
condemned to every species of drudgery, and sent to keep 
company with mules, and assist them in all their servile 
duties. Caesar, a dapple-gray, was a special favorite, and 
treated with the most distinguished consideration : when 
old, he was permitted to range at large through the 
pleasure-grounds of Potsdam Palace, and out of gratitude 
for this gracious treatment, he always exhibited to the 
last the greatest delight whenever Frederick came from 
Sans-Souci to Potsdam to review his troops. It not un- 
frequently happened on such occasions, that the guard 
going on parade were obliged to wheel to the right or 
left to avoid interfering with Caesar, when he stood in the 
way. But the most exalted place in the monarch's esteem 
was occupied by his charger Conde, whose symmetry of 
limb, fine temper, and great capabilities fully justified this 
preference. Frederick had two splendid sets of housings 
of blue velvet, inwrought with silver tissue, specially made 
for him, and never employed Conde except in short rides 
for pleasure. He used to have him brought to him daily, 
and was in the habit of feeding him with sugar, melons, 
and figs. Conde soon came to know the person of his 
patron so well, that when let loose, he always came can- 
tering up to Frederick in search of his accustomed 
dainties, and would sometimes follow the king into the 
chambers, and even into the saloon of the palace of Sans- 
Souci, 



438 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

A^ solemn stillness seems creeping over Sans-Souci. All 
mirthful converse, gaiety, wit, have long since died away 
within its walls. No flute — no chord — are touched Avithin 
its lonely precincts ! One thing alone has not departed, 
and this it is that still enables the unbroken spirit to bear 
up against the multiplied infirmities and pains of old age 
and disease — this talisman of more than magic properties 
w^as Frederick's devotion to science ; and he seemed to 
imbibe fresh strength and vigor with the copious draughts 
he drew from this hygeian fount. The productions of the 
demi-gods of Greece and Rome, together with the fascinat- 
ing speculations of the great French school still supplied 
a fund of entertainment and delight to the aged monarch. 
IS^or does his own intellectual activity decrease. Very 
many of the productions of his pen are assignable to the 
latter years of his life — even long subsequent to the 
Seven Years' War. Indeed, this war was hardly con- 
cluded Avhen he became its historian. The partition of 
Poland and the Bavarian war likewise employed his pen, 
so that he has left us an almost complete chronicle of all 
the leading events subsequent to the Silesian war, besides 
a historical view of many of the most interesting circum- 
stances connected with the government of his predeces- 
sors ; the whole forming a series of historical records 
more interesting, perhaps, than any other of the same 
kind in existence. In his writings we find the strictest 
impartiality observed in the criticism of his own acts and 
times. As none of these works were intended for publi- 
cation during his life-time, his judgment was not warped 
either by prejudice or favor. His labors were undertaken 
solely for the benefit of posterity. He also composed 
several treatises on ethical and political subjects, many of 
which, as, for instance, his " Treatise on the Forms of 
Government and the Duties of Rulers," written in the 
year 1777, and his "Letters on the Love of One's Native 
Land," are singularly consistent in the advocacy of 
doctrines, perfectly ac^cordant with the opinions pro- 
fessed by him in his earliest production, " Machiavelli," 



FREDERICK'S DOMESTIC LIFE IN OLD AGE. 439 

Even his latest poetical effusions are pregnant with the 
same aspirations after eternal truth, and in his elegant 
" TJnde ? Vbi ? Quo ? " composed shortly before his 
death, he seeks to solve those m5^sterious doubts — to dis- 
pel those hovering clouds that darken the soul of man, 
and preclude the vision of that eternal light as it breaks 
upon us from beyond the grave. 

In connection with literary and scientific labors, a re- 
flection of a most painful nature obtrudes itself upon our 
memory, and renders us truly sad. Frederick had devoted 
a long laborious life to the most patriotic and chivalrous 
service of his country ; he had proved himself at once the 
most uncompromising and successful champion of the 
interests of his kingdom ; he even had the satisfaction of 
seeing, in the evening of his life, his country honored, 
respected, flourishing, and rich ; his heroism and sagacity 
had lent a prestige to the whole German name ; and 
Germany had far and wide received enlightenment and 
renown from his individual talents and exertions. This 
was indeed the best reward for his labors ; but to render 
it complete — to convince him how entirely he had attained 
all for which he had ever struggled — he should have been 
able to see those fruits — the sole, unerring indices of the 
high moral culture of the tree — those palpable exponents 
of permanent intellectual elevation. His estimation of 
mental greatness must have rendered him peculiarly 
desirous of seeing his people amongst the foremost in the 
paths of science and intellectual refinement. It is the 
bitter thought that he might have enjoyed this, which 
must have been to him the most ardent of his aspirations, 
and that he did not, that gives us pain. Xo sooner, in 
fact, had he restored to the German people their pristine 
dignity, than there arose a host of gifted spirits, endowed 
with the noblest attributes of German genius, and songs 
re-echoed through the length and the breadth of the land, 
not unworthy of the most glorious days of the Minne- 
singers. The names of Klopstock and Lessing gave place 
to those of Winkelmann, Herder, Wieland, Goethe, and 



4-iO FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

others, whose productions are second to none, be their 
age or clime what they may. But of this Frederick was 
not aware, and what is still more afflicting to think, be- 
trayed no inclination to comprehend their language. He, 
who would have given the whole of Homer's Iliad for a 
single thought in Voltaire's Henriade, could not free him- 
self from the court-etiquette of French poetry. So little 
did he dream of the nature of that soil in which the poetry 
of Germany is rooted, that on Professor Myller of Berlin 
drawing his attention to a splendid collection of the relics 
of Teutonic minstrelsy, culled from the middle ages, he 
pronounced them " not worth a charge of powder." He 
was thus condemned to poverty in the midst of profusion, 
and failed to derive that pride and satisfaction from the 
talents and genius of his subjects and countrymen, which 
he must have otherwise done, had he not perversely and 
wilfully alienated his mind from his country's literature. 
And yet, although believing his people still immersed 
in the rudeness and barbarism prevailing at the period of 
his youth, he entertained the cheering conviction that 
Germany was destined, at some future and not very dis- 
tant period, to burst forth in splendor, and enforce its 
claims to a proud pre-eminence amongst nations. In 
1780 he wrote a lengthened dissertation " On German 
Literature; its Faults, the Objections generally raised, 
and the Means of remedying them." This treatise is so 
imperfect as to be completely worthless, as his acquain- 
tance was limited to the insignificant productions popular 
in his youth. But the spirit in which the treatise is com- 
posed more than compensates for its glaring deficiencies 
and defects, as evincing the truth and fidelity with which 
the old king clung to his country to the last. His con- 
cluding words contain aspirations, if prophetic, certainly 
conceived in the most sanguine spirit of prophecy, and are 
as follows : " We too shall have our classical authors : 
every one will read them with delight; our neighbors 
will learn the German language, and it will be spoken 
with pleasure throughout Europe : it is possible that. 



FREDERICK'S DOMESTIC LIFE IN OLD AGE. 44I 

when cultivated and improved, it may become the great 
European language. Those glorious days for our litera- 
ture are not yet come, but they are approaching. I tell 
you they will come. I shall not live to see them — my 
advanced age does not allow me to indulge such a hope. 
Like Moses I see the land of promise from afar off, though 
I shall never enter it." 



>«/f\^'- /f'^s^^ 



4/i2 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 



CHAPTER XUn. 



Frederick's death. 



Revered by the generation which had sprung up 
around him, Frederick, now past his seventieth year, never 
abated in his solicitude for their welfare, and cordially 
reciprocated the attachment of a people who felt his glory 
inseparably intertwined with their existence, and paid him 
more than filial homage. In truth whenever he appeared 
amongst his subjects he was received like a father amongst 
so many children. Reposing the amplest confidence in the 
love and attachment of his people, his palace, unlike those 
of most other sovereigns of Europe, required neither 
cannon nor hireling guards for its defence. The perfectly 
defenceless state of the royal residence is thus graphically 
portrayed by a contemporary : " I ascended this hill 
(Sans-Souci) for the first time in the dusk of a winter 
evening. On coming in view of that small, memorable 
house, I found I was already close by his room. I saw a 
light, but no guard before the house-door : not a soul to 
ask me who I was or what I wanted. I could see nothing 
of the kind, and strolled about free and unconcerned in 
front of this little tranquil abode." Another person de- 
scribes his having come one evening, accompanied by a 
page, to Sans-Souci, and on entering an inner chamber, 
through a half-open door, having found Frederick slumber- 
ing on a sofa, the only attendant being a valet, who was 
fast asleep. 

Whenever Frederick rode into town it was quite an 



FREDERICK'S DEATH. 443 

event for the lower orders. The citizens would step in 
front of their houses and make their obeisances to him as 
he passed, which he always returned by taking off his hat. 
Many would walk by his side, so as to be able to take a 
satisfactory survey of the personal appearance of the great 
king. He was generally escorted by a troop of youthful 
urchins, who kept continually shouting, flinging up their 
caps in the air, wiping the dust off his boots, or giving 
way to other demonstrations of satisfaction and general 
approval. With these ebullitions of juvenile loyalty 
Frederick did not in general interfere; at times, how- 
ever, he found it necessary to repress the sportive propen- 
sities of the more gamesome, especially when they included 
startling his horse in their pastime ; to curb this supera- 
bundant buoyancy of feeling Frederick had recourse to a 
volley of annihilating threats, backed by a brandishing of 
his staff : it does not appear, however, that the effect was 
more than very temporary, and it is even on record that 
on one occasion, when the royal indignation and wrath 
was vented with more than ordinary energy, and accom- 
panied by the mandate, that they should be off at once, 
and go to school, the juveniles rallied the monarch with 
" Ho, ho ! he pretends to be a king, and does not even 
know that Wednesday afternoon is always a half holi- 
day ! " 

There was an equal degree of anxiety evinced by the 
^ upper classes to catch a glimpse of him whenever he went 
to the opera. " How the heart beat," say an eye-wit- 
ness, " when a flourish of trumpets and drums announces 
his arrival, and every one strains to get a view of him. 
The eyes of the old warriors in the pit are never taken 
off his." 

The respect and admiration paid him in distant lands 
was quite equal to that enjoyed by him in his own. In 
the year 1780 a captain of a ship, of the name of Klock, 
a native of Amsterdam, who had become a citizen of 
Emden, lost his ship in a storm on the coast of 
Morocco. Both himself and his crew were carried off in 



444 FREDERICK THE GREA¥. 

the most horrible captivity to Magadore. As soon, 
however, as the Emperor Muley Ismael learned that they 
and their flag belonged to the great king, he had them 
conveyed to Morocco, and there questioned them about 
Frederick. " Such strange things," said he, " have come 
to my ears respecting your king, that my breast is filled 
with love and admiration of him. The world can boast 
no greater man than he : as friend and brother I have 
locked him in my heart. It is, therefore, not my wish 
that you, who belong to him, should be regarded as 
prisoners in my realm ; and it is my intention accordingly 
to send you home frank and free to your native land. I 
have further given orders to my cruisers to respect and 
protect the Prussian flag wherever they meet it! " 
Klock and his crew were provided with new suits of 
clothes, well treated, and received a free passage to 
Lisbon. 

Frederick had entered the world with a feeble frame ; 
many apprehensions for his life had been awakened by its 
delicacy in his youth. In addition to this, a complication 
of cares and toils had made many inroads on his con- 
stitution. But his body had been so completely case- 
hardened by fatigue, and his strength so surprisingly de- 
veloped by exertion, that he bore up with fortitude against 
the numerous diseases with which he was periodically 
afflicted. His carriage was no longer erect, but his spirit 
was as unbroken as ever. His personal appearance is 
thus described by an eye-witness, a few months previous 
to his death. " I gazed with feelings of no ordinary 
interest on this man, whose genius is so grand and person 
so small, bowed down, as if bending under the weight of 
his laurels and toils. His blue coat, almost as worn as 
his body, his high boots, reaching above his knees, his 
waistcoat covered with snuff — all forming a singular but 
striking enseinble. In the flre of his eye one saw that he 
had not yet grown old. Though his gait was that of an 
invalid, one could see that he would still fight like the 
youngest soldier in his army." 



FREDERICK'S DEATH. 445 

But repeated attacks of illness, which became more 
violent as he advanced in years, were gradually under- 
mining his constitution. "As regards my health," 
(these are his ovm words in 1780,) "you will not^ of 
course, be surprised to hear that at the advanced age of 
sixty-eight I feel the feebleness of years. I am at one 
time attacked by gout in the hand, at another time by 
gout in the hip, or ague, and these afflictions, whilst they 
gradually wear away my life, prepare me for casting off 
this worn-out covering of the soul." But still he dis- 
charged the most onerous of his royal functions with the 
same punctuality as ever. There was no suspension 
either of the daily business of his cabinet, or of the daily 
parade ; even the tours through the provinces and the 
reviews were still continued. As late as August, 1785, 
we find him sitting for five hours on horseback at a re- 
view in Silesia, in the midst of a torrent of rain, bidding 
defiance to all the inclemency of the elements. A slight 
indisposition was the only consequence of this rash act. 

Towards the autumn of this year a more alarming phase 
of disease set in ; dangerous symptoms of dropsy were 
soon recognizable. But m the midst of his torturing and 
harassing sufferings his activity as ruler never abated. 
All his cabinet business was transacted with the same 
dihgence as in the days of his most robust health. The 
latter years of his life were marked by the realization of 
of the JFilrstenbund, a memorable treaty with North 
America, and several acts of internal administration. 
Being anxious to deliver his charge faithfully and well 
into the hands of his successor, he hurried all pending 
plans and projects to a speedy close, and appropriated not 
less than three millions of thalers to public uses. The 
low lands on the Baltic had suffered considerably from 
inundations ; measures were therefore immediately taken 
to repair the dams, and half a million of thalers were 
distributed amongst the sufferers. He also took the 
necessary precautions to provide against the evil conse- 
quences of the failure of that year's crops. 



446 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

Zieten died on the 26th of Januaiy, 1786. On learning 
his death Frederick became very much affected, but com- 
posed. Some general officers afterwards came in, but 
studiously avoided all allusion to the topic, until he him- 
self broached it by saying, " AVell, our old Zieten has 
shown himself a good general even in death. In the 
wars he always commanded the advanced-guard— he has 
taken the lead now too. I used to bring up the main 
body— I'll follow him." 

April came, with its warm, genial weather, and Fred- 
erick hoped, though his disease was now in a very ad- 
vanced stage, that he should also participate in the 
general revival of nature. The beams of the sun and the 
perfumed breath of spring were grateful to his senses, 
and in order to enjoy their genial influence he was in the 
habit of having a chair placed on the steps in front of the 
Potsdam Palace, w^here he had passed the Avinter; he 
would here sit for hours inhaling the fresh air. Whilst 
so seated, he one day observed that the sentinels in front 
were standing with grounded arms, afraid of disturbing 
him. Beckoning to one of them to advance, he said in a 
kind tone. "Keep walking up and down, ye cannot 
stand so long as I can sit." 

As early as April he returned to his dearly-loved sum- 
mer retreat and here made several attempts to ride about 
on his favorite, Conde ; but his strength failed him. His 
physicians now declared him beyond all medical aid, and 
even the celebrated Hanoverian doctor, Zimmermann, 
though his brilliant conversation amused, could afford 
him no relief. About the beginning of summer dropsy 
had formally set in, and Frederick's sufferings became 
indescribably acute. He could no longer endure a re- 
cumbent posture of any kind, and was constrained to sit 
night and day in his arm-chair. Still his manner was 
free from all peevishness and irritation, and gave no ex- 
ternal indication whatsoever of his internal sufferings ; 
not a single murmur or complaint escaped his lips. 
When seized in the night by a painful fit of coughing, he 



FREDERICK'S DEATH. 447 

would call out in an under- tone, so as to avoid disturbing 
the other attendants, to one of the servants to come and 
hold him in an upright posture in the couch. The Duke 
of Courland happened to pay him a visit about this period, 
and was asked by him whether he was in want of a good 
Avatchman, "because," added Frederick, "I am a famous 
hand at keeping awake all night." All this did not, how- 
ever, uiterfere with the business of government. The 
cabinet councillors, who had been hitherto admitted to 
his presence between six and seven o'clock in the morn- 
ing, were now regularly summoned at the somewhat in- 
convenient hours of four and five. " My state of health," 
said he, " compels me to put you to this inconvenience, 
but it will not be of long continuance. My life is at its 
lowest ebb. I am bound to make the most of such time 
as is still left me. It does not belong to me, it belongs 
to the state." 

If the afternoon were fine, he would have himself car- 
ried out in his chair, and sit in front of the palace, bask- 
ing in the sun. On one occasion he was overheard to 
exclaim, as he gazed upon the orb of day, " I shall soon 
come nearer to thee ! " 

About the middle of August his disease came to a 
crisis that seemed to forebode a speedy dissolution. On 
the 15th he slept until eleven o'clock, with him a most 
unusual circumstance, and then in a feeble tone of voice, 
but with his faculties as clear and collected as at any 
period of his-- life, transacted his ordinary cabinet busi- 
ness. He dictated the same day several despatches, which 
for comprehensive clearness would have done honor to 
the coolest head. He also communicated to the com- 
mandant of Potsdam, Lieutenant-general De Rohdich, the 
necessary dispositions for a manoeuvre of the Potsdam 
garrison, which was to take place the day following, and 
his arrangements were not only perfectly correct in a 
strategetic point of view, but admirably adapted to the 
peculiar nature of the terrain. 

On the following morning he became much worse ; his 



448 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

utterance failed him, and he seemed ahnost lost to con- 
sciousness. The cabinet councillors remained unsum- 
moned. De Rohdich entered, and advancing to the 
monarch's couch, saw him evidently making one grand 
struggle to summon up all his strength for the perform- 
ance of his favorite duty. But the sunken eyelids re- 
mained closed — the parting lips speechless. He turned 
his head, with a plaintive look, that seemed to say, "I 
can do it no longer," and sank back exhausted. De Roh- 
dich left the room in tears. 

This day passed likewise without the physical dissolu- 
tion that had already set in being able to overcome the 
strong vital principle within him. Night came on; it 
struck eleven. The king inquired the hour in a distinct 
voice, and on being told it, replied, " I shall get up at 
four." A fit of coughing now seized him, and his breath- 
ing became violently oppressed. One of the attendants 
knelt down, and placing his arms roufid the king's shoul- 
ders, sustained him for a while in an upright posture. 
By degrees the features began to change ; the eye became 
sunken and hollow; convulsions ceased to agitate his 
frame ; the breath of life had fled. Frederick expired a 
few hours after midnight in the arms of his attendant. 
Two other domestics and the surgeon were the only wit- 
nesses of his end. His death occurred on the 17th of 
August, 1786. 

The new monarch, Frederick William II., arrived the 
following morning, and paid the last sad tribute of affec- 
tion to the departed. Clad in the uniform of the first 
battalion of the Guards, Frederick lay extended on a 
camp-bedstead. The officers of the garrison were then 
admitted to pay their respects to the remains of their 
idolized monarch. The scene was truly affecting. There 
were not a few moist eyes amongst those present. 

At eight o'clock the same evening the body was placed 
in its coffin by twelve non-commissioned officers of the 
Guards, and conveyed in a hearse drawn by eight horses 
to the palace in the town. The adjutant of the Guards 



FREDERICK'S DEATH. 449 

rode in front ; the twelve non-commissioned officers 
walked at either side of the hearse; three carriages 
brought up the rear. As the procession moved mourn- 
fully along towards the Brandenburg Gate in Potsdam it 
was joined by many officers, who took part in the mourn- 
ful ceremony. The streets of Potsdam were filled with vast 
crowds, but a death-like stillness rested on all ; nought 
reached the ear but the ill-suppressed sob, or the plaintive 
sigh for "the poor, good kmg!" At the entrance 
of the palace the coffin was received by four colonels, 
and laid out beneath a canopy in state. His body was to 
be seen here the whole day, attired in his ordinary simple 
dress-suit, his gray locks slightly powdered and tastefully 
arranged. The expression of the face was that of serious- 
ness and repose. His staff, sword, and sash lay beside 
him. Thousands hurried from Berlin and the small 
towns in the neighborhood to cast a last look on the 
father of his country. 

The vault in the terrace of Sans-Souci which Frederick 
had marked out for his own grave seemed to his succes- 
sor unworthy to become the resting-place of so great a 
king. The new ruler decided on the vault under the 
chancel of the garrison church, which contained the ashes 
of Frederick William I., as the more fitting place of in- 
terment. Thither, on the evening of the 18th of August, 
the procession moved, attended by the officers of^'the 
army, the magistracy, and the members of the household. 
Two clergymen preceded the coffin, and accompanied it to 
the entrance of the vault. The muffled tones of the organ 
breathed, " We are thine, O God, unto eternity." The 
text of the sermon preached throughout the land in mem- 
ory of the departed was everywhere taken from the First 
Book of Chronicles : « And I have made thee a name 
like the name of the great that are in the earth." The 
solemn obsequies were performed on the 8th of Septem- 
ber in the garrison church of Potsdam. 

It would be indeed difficult to convey an idea of the 
universal sorrow felt throughout the world at the blank 



450 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

created by Frederick's death. He whom the world had 
so emphatically styled the Great — the One — was now no 
more. Perhaps no better index to popular feeling at 
the time can be found, than the exclamation of a simple 
Swabian peasant : " Who is now to govern the world ? " 



FREDERICK'S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT. 451 



FREDERICK'S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT. 

Frederick's dispositions were, in the most important 
particulars, as follow : 

" Our life is a fleeting passage from the moment of our 
birth to that of our death. Man's destination within that 
brief period is to labor for the welfare of the society of 
which he is a member. From the time of my succeeding to 
the administration of the affairs of state, I have labored 
with such strength as nature bestowed upon me, and to the 
utmost of my small abilities, to render the community 
over which I had the honor to preside prosperous and 
flourishmg. I have upheld law and. justice ; I have in- 
troduced order and punctuality in the management of the 
finances ; I have introduced a degree of discipline into 
the army that has enabled it to cope with and transcend 
the armies of the rest of Europe. Having thus discharged 
my duty to the state, I should reproach myself were I to 
neglect the affairs of my own family. To preclude, then, 
all possible dissension or dispute amongst the more 
immediate members thereof in respect of my property, I 
declare, by virtue of this solemn record, my last will to be 
as follows : — 

" I give and bequeath, freely and without reluctance, 
this breath of life that animates me to the same beneficent 
Nature that lent it to me, and my body to the elements 
of which it is composed. I have lived as a philosopher, 
and as such I desire to be buried — without ostentation, 
show, or pomp. I do not wish that my body should be 
either opened or embalmed. Let me be placed in the vault 
I have had prepared in the terrace of Sans-Souci. Should 



452 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 

I die in battle, or whilst travelling, then let me be buried 
in the nearest spot, and afterwards transferred in winter- 
time to Sans-Souci. 

" I bequeath unto my dear nephew, Frederick William, 
as unto my immediate successor, the kingdom of Prussia, 
the provinces, towns, palaces, forts, fortresses, all ammuni- 
tion and arsenals, all lands, mine by inheritance or right of 
conquest, the crown-jewels, gold and silver services of plate 
in Berlin, my country-houses, collections of coins, picture- 
galleries, gardens, and so forth. I also specially bequeath 
unto him the treasury, in such condition as it may be in 
on the day of my death, on trust, as belonging of right to 
the people, and only to be apphed to their protection and 
support. 

" Should it appear that at the time of my decease I 
have left any small debts unsatisfied, the payment of 
which had been prevented by my death, such are to be 
paid by my successor. This is my will. 

" To the queen, my consort, I bequeath, in addition to 
the revenues of which she is at present in receipt, the 
annual sum of ten thousand thalers, two casks of wine 
yearly, together with firing, and game for her table free 
of all charge. In consideration of the above the queen 
has promised to appoint my nephews her heirs. As there 
is no fitting place of residence to make over to her, let it 
be Stettin, nominally. But I hereby require of my nephew 
to provide her with suitable apartments in the palace at 
Berlin free of all charge : he is to pay her that respect 
she is entitled to as his uncle's wife, and one who never 
forsook the paths of virtue. 

"As to my personal property. I have never been 
either covetous or rich, and have consequently not much 
property to dispose of. I have ever looked upon the 
treasury as the ark of the covenant, which no profane 
hand should touch. I have in no instance applied the 
revenue to my own private uses. My annual expenditure 
has in no instance exceeded two hundred and twenty 
thousand thalers. My management of the treasury leaves 



FREDERICK'S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT. 453 

my conscience free from all reproach, and I should not 
object to going into a full account of my trusteeship. 

" I appoint my nephew, Frederick William, my sole heir." 

After enumerating certain provisions to be made and 
legacies to be paid by his successor, he proceeds as fol- 
lows: 

" I recommend with all affection and attachment unto 
my successor, the officers who have served under my com- 
mand in the wars. I particularly beg that he provide 
for such as served on my personal staff ; that he do not 
dismiss any of them, nor permit them in sickness or old 
age to perish of want. He will find them intelligent 
soldiers — men who have given proofs of their abilities, 
courage, devotion, and valor." 

He recommends in a similar manner his private secre- 
taries and household. After certain other dispositions, 
he closes with these words : 

" I further recommend unto my successor to honor 
his family in the persons of his uncles, aunts, and other 
relatives. Chance, which presides over the destiny of 
man, determines primogeniture, and one is not more 
worthy because of his being king. I recommend all my 
relations to live in amity, and not to forget to sacrifice 
their individual interests for the general good. , 

" My most fervent aspirations, when breathing my last, 
shall be for the prosperity of my kingdom. May its gov- 
ernment be ever conducted with justice, wisdom, and de- 
cision. May the mildness of its laws render it the hap- 
piest, and the due administration of its finances the most 
prosperous of states ! May its army, mindful of nought 
but honor and renown, render it the most valiantly de- 
fended of kingdoms! Oh, may it continue in the 
enjoyment of the most perfect prosperity to the end of 
time!" 

THE END, 



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